August 2002

Features

	Assessing Technology Through the Ages
	by C. Wayne Hibbs
	A definitive assessment requires that a product’s functional, physical, financial, clinical and communication advantages be well-defined. The questions we asked in previous decades, when X-ray consisted of little more than a couple of rooms with straightforward equipment, still apply. But new times and new technologies also raise new points: Does this product have an advantage over what we use now?


	Taking the Pulse of Pulse Oximeters
	by Barbara Hein
	The common pulse oximeter has a simple mission: to monitor the percentage of oxygen-saturated hemoglobin in a patient’s blood. Yet, the fact that its accuracy is often debatable complicates its use. So how do you monitor the monitors? Is it the probe — again? Try these approaches and test devices to assure that your oximeters check out just fine, every time.


	Life in the Fast Lane: Biker BMETs
	by Sydney Schuster
	What do professionals who fiddle with complex, high-strung machinery do for fun? Fiddle with complex, high-strung machinery, of course! Meet 10 biomeds who spend their off-duty hours “heading down the highway, looking for adventure” on their motorbikes. Sometimes it’s for charity, often it’s for the camaraderie, but — no doubt about it — it’s always for fun.