July 2003

Features

	Reduce. Recycle, Reuse: Managing a Healthful Environment
	by Charles St. Martin
	Hospitals generate mountains of trash and hazardous waste, but not all of that refuse heads for the landfill or roasts in the incinerator. Many hospitals have implemented reduction, recycling and reusing programs for a wide variety of items — batteries, circuit boards, mercury, medical equipment and chemicals, to name a few. And their employees say it’s second nature to be watchdogs for waste.


	Case Study: Taking Ultrasound In-house
	by Rick Fox, CBET
	The cardiology and diagnostic ultrasound departments at Providence Hospital-St. John’s Health in Southfield, Mich., were skeptical: Service the ultrasound equipment in-house? But when clinical engineering manager Ron Edmonds was able to demonstrate savings in uptime, response time and money by testing and repairing probes in-house, he saw doubting departments convert to satisfied supporters.


	Healthcare's 'Sophisticated Lady'
	by Laura Gater
	From its containment in a simple rubber gasbag to its application via sophisticated computer-controlled circuitry, anesthesia and the systems that administer it have come a long way. But just what makes for a “cutting-edge” anesthesia system? Are design and technology true advances or the equivalent of chrome on metal? And what do these complicated systems mean for those charged with keeping them in working order?

COLUMNS

Editor's Note

by Marie S. Marchese

Biomeds as Students, Teachers

Personal Technology

by Walter J. Mossberg

Sharp’s Skinny Laptop Can Act Like a PDA, But Design Is Flawed

Soapbox

by Binseng Wang

How Can We Attain Licensure?

Departments

	Browser


	It's Robot Blood!
	by Dr. Tony Phillips and Patrick L. Barry, NASA
	A Tale of Amazing MR Fluids


	Postcards
	A look at what’s shakin’ with local biomedical associations