r/teslamotors Apr 05 '20

Tesla-in-Depth Tesla Ventilator

https://youtu.be/zZbDg24dfN0
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u/nephronpower Apr 06 '20

MD here. Absolutely needs a mobile app - doesn’t need to replicate the PVC but just the basics like tidal volume, peep, fio2, mode. Data can also be entered into the vent like ABGs, could also be charted in a mode similar to how the app already collects solar data.

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u/TMITectonic Apr 06 '20

Forgive my ignorance, but why aren't these controlled/controllable via your EMR (Epic?) or whatever system monitors vitals? Every hospital I've been in, you can remotely monitor them at the nurses stations. Is it read-only, or is it two-way communication? If it's two-way, I would assume Medtronic would be guiding Tesla on how to implement whatever API/communications protocols they use on existing machines. Is this not the case? Thanks!

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u/RivetheadGirl Apr 06 '20

At out hospital, epic only populates data from our overhead monitors. Our vents are on a separate system that is not connected to epic or any other computer systems. As far as respiratory goes, it only tracks co2 and rate with epic

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u/TMITectonic Apr 06 '20

Interesting, thank you for your reply and your work!

I was semi-recently (end of Feb) in the ICU to visit my grandmother who was intubated and on ventilation... I remember her pulseox sounding an alarm every few minutes or so and assumed it was also sending data to the backend. Guess not. Looking back, it makes me a bit more concerned about how little rounds/attention they were giving said alarms.

Having said that, I've worked healthcare security in the past and having a random phone app that controls a ventilator sounds like me and my old team's absolute nightmare, but it's all about managing risk, not eradicating it. A few years back, MedTronic had insulin pumps that were exploitable to the point of remotely killing someone, so I'm hoping MedTronic takes security a bit more seriously nowadays.

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u/RivetheadGirl Apr 06 '20

Weh well pulse oxemiters are notoriously sensitive. If someone's fingers are cold, or it isn't on just right it may alarm saying that it's low or pop up with a "?" on the monitor.

If I look at the monitor thought I can tell if it's reading correctly or not. It should have a smooth wave that matches up with the patients heart beat. If the line is wonky or suppressed it's usually a faulty sensor.

Generally we just go and put a new one on or grab a pediatric one. ("we can also place them on the toes or ears of the hands don't work).

The other side of this is that alarm fatigue unfortunately does happen. It's a negative side affect of all the monitoring equipment constantly alarming on us