disconnects patient monitoring, gas-supply hoses, and electrical connections. The CE wheels the
machine out of the room (careful not to touch sterile tables and drapes, or else there would
be even more upset people), and moves the new machine in. With great care, things are
reconnected, and every detail is put back in its place. The new machine and then the ventilator
are turned on. The very same problem is still there. The bellows do not fill properly,
even with a fresh gas-flow rate of 10 lpm. Tension is building. The CE has done
everything asked of him, and there is nothing else that the he can think of. The physicians
are growing even more upset. Not wanting to be in the way, the CE decides that it is time
to leave.
Back in the clinical engineering department, the CE finds a co-worker and discusses
the recent occurrence. The co-worker convinces the CE that they both should go to the
OR. The first machine is still in the hallway. They plug it in and turn on the oxygen cylinder.
A quick breathing circuit leak test and a functional ventilator test indicate that nothing
is wrong with that machine. In the room, everyone is near an uproar because they