User's Manual Part 2

Directions for Use Introduction 5
Safety
The monitor is safe for patients and clinicians when used in accordance with the
instructions and with the warning and caution statements presented in this manual.
All personnel must read and understand all warning and caution statements
presented in this manual before using the monitor.
• Failure to understand and observe any warning statement in this manual could
lead to patient injury, illness, or death.
• Failure to understand and observe any caution statement in this manual could
lead to equipment damage or loss of patient data.
General Warnings
These statements apply to all aspects of patient monitoring. Statements which apply
specifically to one aspect of monitoring, such as NIBP or SpO
2
monitoring, are presented
in the corresponding sections of the manual.
WARNING Many environmental variables, including patient physiology and
clinical application, can affect the accuracy and performance of the monitor. The
clinician must verify all vital-signs information prior to patient intervention.
WARNING Always check the patient mode (adult, pediatric, or neonate) when
monitoring a new patient. The patient mode determines default alarm limits and
internal algorithm settings. Make sure the monitor has settings that are
appropriate before monitoring the patient.
WARNING Make sure Acuity patients, and especially those prone to
arrhythmias, are kept under close surveillance. While monitoring patients with
Acuity, the clinician must review all clinical data before implementing therapy. As
with all computerized arrhythmia analysis systems, Acuity cannot replace skilled
care and proper surveillance by a clinician.
WARNING It is possible for Acuity alarms, alerts, or other events to go
unnoticed if clinical personnel are not present at Acuity or if interruptions occur in
power or system operations. To help reduce this possible occurrence, Acuity
must be installed with redundant power supplies and redundant means of
operator surveillance, such as secondary Acuity Central Stations and hallway
message panels.
WARNING The monitor might not meet its performance specifications if stored
or used outside the specified temperature and humidity ranges.
WARNING Use of respiration monitoring by impedance pneumography can
affect the operation of some pacemakers. If pacemaker operation is affected, turn
off respiration pneumography. (See Figure 61 on page 61.)
WARNING Do not connect more than one patient to a monitor.
WARNING Do not connect more than one monitor to a patient.