Medtronic bedside monitor just beeped at me!

Bedside monitor

by piglet22 - 2023-05-16 06:10:16

Hello

Which bedside monitor do you have?

I have Medtronic MyCareLink. This is the second one only a year old as the first one failed.

There is a lithium battery in the chest reader and I don't think it was charging. When this happened, it came up with a series of error codes of the form A8***, which Medtronic in the Netherlands (I'm in UK) used to diagnose the problem.

We get a lot of power cuts here, some short (the worst sort), some long. I don't recall any bleeps as a result.

I've just unplugged my base unit, and the first thing that happens is the blue LED on the reader starts to flash. I'm guessing this continues until it gives up. The reader runs on it’s own small rechargeable lithium battery.

On restoring power to the base unit, it just goes through the usual startup, but no bleeps.

There is no bleeper in the chest reader, so it must be in the base unit.

Do you have equipment in the house that shows if there's been a power cut? Like cooker clocks?

I got so fed up with power cuts, up to 8 in one day, that all my equipment like computers, router etc., are on Uninterruptable Power Supplies (UPS). These also record power cuts so when the utility says they aren't aware of power cuts, you can tell them otherwise.

Here, you can register with the electricity network provider, UK Power Networks, as having essential medical equipment and they will text you if they know that power is going off (planned outages), but no good for unplanned.

Take the worst case scenario. You are in the middle of a power cut and your monitor needs to transmit. What are you going to do? The short answer is you can't do anything. There is no backup supply for the monitor.

My advice, if power outages are a concern, is to buy a small UPS. It will take over supply to the monitor instantly and will also protect your monitor from stuff like voltage spikes or lightning rubbish coming down the power line.

MyCareLink runs on a 5-volt DC supply, so not much power required. 100-watts capacity should be adequate. Good makes are APC or Salicru.

There's not much in the manuals about power cuts or even what the buttons do.

There's a button on the reader, easy to press, but nothing in the manual. I asked Medtronic about it and was told "it's for the technicians". There's also a USB port on the reader, but even I wouldn't tinker with that. It's probably for programming.

For such a vital bit of kit, I'm surprised there isn't more information of power outages. Unless told otherwise, I would definitely look at a UPS. And a reliable torch nearby.

Beeping

by The Rose - 2023-05-17 20:30:08

Hi - I use the phone version of MyCareLink.  My adventure into internal electricity was January 2023, with the same type pacer.

Call Medtronics. Ask for someone with many years technical experience.  Otherwise, you risk wasting time.  I learned a lot from them.  They'll properly advise you on beeping, etc.  At least our pacermaker's don't beep or use ring tones.

I learned the pacer retains the data until it sends something. The data will download the next time you're connected.

Medtronics has been helpful, to the point that I've learned a wee bit too much and take risks my doctor isn't advising.  I also now use technical terminology.  (I've had bad experiences wiht other doctors, so I dive into every bit of information possible)

I also have a Right Bundle Branch Block.  I pace less than 1%, and my pacemaker is set at the lowest points possible.  In essence, it's in back up mode. 

Thus, in my mind, it's not a big deal to shut down the app for days at a time.  It's a dangerous practice that I absolutely don't advise.  However, that should put your mind at a bit of easy when power shortages happen.  You're doctor can also download all data if there's a power interruptiion. 

Hope this helps.