An infant respirator had a design defect which could result in an infant’s lungs being over pressured. Sam Wilson, an experienced engineer, employed by MedTech found the defective relief valve.
The error could have been corrected easily by repositioning the valve, however when Wilson brought it to the attention of the manager months went by without action of the manager before Wilson checked to see if the valves had been repositioned. He found they had not been fixed.
As a physician it is important to understand the workings of the equipment you use to improve health. A malfunction such as the respirator can injure or kill your patient. Without knowledge of how the equipment works a problem such as this could be missed.
The respirator problem
The error could have been corrected easily by repositioning the valve, however when Wilson brought it to the attention of the manager months went by without action of the manager before Wilson checked to see if the valves had been repositioned. He found they had not been fixed.
As a physician it is important to understand the workings of the equipment you use to improve health. A malfunction such as the respirator can injure or kill your patient. Without knowledge of how the equipment works a problem such as this could be missed.
The respirator problem