Power Supply
Trouble Shooting
The unit is powered by an internal rechargeable
battery which gives up to 70 hours use between
recharges. The battery has an expected service
life of 200 charge cycles.
Electronic faults with the Apalert are extremely
rare. Problems are more likely to be due to one
of the following.
A recharge adaptor is supplied and the unit may
be used concurrently with recharging.
Sensor Failure
L.E.D. on front panel.
Indicated by total inability to respond to breath.
Intermittent failure will cause random signals not
correlated to breaths. These symptoms may be
also caused by contamination of plug connecting
sensor lead to machine. Consider cleaning plug
with alcohol and cloth. Having a spare sensor on
hand may avoid inconvenience.
•
80% discharge indicated by digital display
shutdown.
Recharge Adaptor Failure
•
100% discharge indicated by audible alarm.
Low Battery Warnings
• 60% discharge indicated by flashing yellow
Recharging
The recommended recharging power source is a
9 volt transformer producing 50 to 300 mA.
Connect the recharge source to the power
socket on the rear panel. The recharge indicator
L.E.D. should flash to confirm correct operation.
If the unit is being used concurrently the recharge
indicator will not flash but the digital display
changes mode from intermittant to constant
illumination.
With 50mA source recharging will take 14 hours.
This reduces to 10 hours with higher powered
sources. Over-charging cannot cause damage.
Indicated by absence of red L.E.D. flashing when
attempting to recharge battery. If transformer
supplied has adjustable voltage ensure it is set at
9 volts. It may also be possible that polarity on
the Recharge Transformer can be reversed so
check this also.
Veterinary Respiration Monitor
Model RM5
Battery Worn Out
Indicated by unit not running at all or only for
short time after full recharge.
Note : Display non-functioning and alarm
continuous are symptoms of discharged
battery but may be mistaken for a fault.
Dealer
The battery will self-discharge in 4 to 6 months. If
it is allowed to remain completely discharged for
any length of time it may become unserviceable.
Sensor Sterilisation
The sensor element is resistant to damage
from most chemical sterilisation agents. The
recommended treatment is Chlorhexidine in
normal dilutions with or without alcohol.
Options
Zero Dead Space Sensor
Miniature sensor fits directly into special ET tube adaptors or Y-piece (all supplied). Avoids
adding to patient dead space. Allows monitoring of patients down to 250 gm bodyweight.
Operating Instructions
www.apalert.net
Congratulations!!
The purchase of your Apalert Respiration Monitor
will change forever your approach to
anaesthesia. The Apalert is the most advanced
and comprehensive respiration monitor ever
designed for veterinary patients.
Almost all veterinary anaesthetic drugs depress
respiration in a dose related manner. This makes
respiration monitoring an ideal tool to assess
anaesthetic depth. Most anaesthetic emergencies
can be attributed to human error, simply a lack of
vigilance.
The Apalert is always vigilant, not only preventing
deaths but allowing better management of every
anaesthetic.
As well as apnoea warning, the Apalert can
signal the occurrence of slow or shallow
breathing giving early notice of impending
problems. It can also draw the anaesthetists
attention to other problems such as hypothermia,
exhausted gas supply and blockages or leakages
in the gas anaesthesia equipment.
Manual Alarm Reset
Low Battery Indicator
Respiration Indicator
Green LED flashes
with each
breath.
Yellow LED flashing indicates
battery is 60% discharged.
Digital Display
Indicates time
elapsing between
breaths. Display
is turned off when
battery is 80%
discharged
though machine
continues to
operate as
normal.
Control Switch
Activates
Apalert and
selects
length of
apnoea to
trigger alarm.
Recharge Indicator
Sensitivity Control
Volume Control
Adjusts level of sound from audible signals. Sound
level increases automatically if alarm is not reset.
Adjusts sensitivity of Apalert to suit
size of animal. Refer to sensitivity
table to select correct adjustment.
Features
•
•
•
Robust and reliable sensor,
unaffected by moisture.
Sensitivity adjusts to all
patients down to 1 kg.
Optional sensor available for
patients as small as 250 gm.
Audible apnoea alarm.
•
•
Alarm Tones
1) Connect sensor to patient airway using
adaptor provided.
The audible apnoea alarm has 6 short pulses
and a pause each second.
2) Activate Apalert and select time required with
Control Switch. The display will begin counting
seconds.
The audible low battery alarm has 3 long pulses
and a pause each second.
For correct operation there must not be any
leakage in the patients airway connections,
particularly around the ET tube cuff.
3) Select and adjust sensitivity as detailed in
Sensitivity Table below.
4) Adjust volume if desired.
Controls & Indicators
Small window on top
surface contains optical
switch. Reset apnoea alarm
by passing hand or elbow
above this window.
Operation
Audible and visual breath
indicators.
Apnoea Alarm adjustable
from 10 to 60 seconds.
•
Digital display indicates time
between breaths.
•
Hands free alarm reset.
•
•
•
Intensity of audible signals is
adjustable. Alarms
automatically increase in
volume if ignored.
Rechargeable battery.
Indicators warn of 60%, 80%
and 100% battery discharge.
5) Each breath should produce a short audible
beep and a flash of the green L.E.D. after
which the digital time display will reset to zero.
Manual Alarm Reset
Activated by a shadow falling on the optical
switch. Move hand or elbow several centimetres
above the machine to achieve this.
The movement should be brisk - the switch is
sensitive to rate of change in light intensity not
the amount of change. The manual reset only
operates when the alarm is active. It does not
prevent Apalert use in low light.
Alarm Procedure
If there is no breath within the preset time, the
apnoea alarm commences. A breath will reset
the alarm or it may be reset manually.
Alarm indicates breath has not been detected
within preset period and the status of the patient
should be evaluated. Check the patients vital
signs. Consider why the alarm may have
activated.
Sensitivity Setting
i) Respiratory depression from anaesthesia
overdose.
Experience will be the guide to setting the
sensitivity control. To begin, select from the
following table.
SENSITIVITY TABLE The sensor is a thermal
Patient Sensitivity transducer triggered by
the temperature change
1 Kg
10
between inspired and
expired gas. Greater
5 Kg
8
sensitivity is required at
10 Kg
6
higher ambient
20 Kg
4
temperature or when the
50 Kg
2
patient is hypothermic.
100 Kg
1
If the machine does not respond to breaths at the
recommended setting, increase sensitivity one
unit at a time until breaths are registered.
If breaths are registered at the suggested setting,
reduce setting 1 unit at a time until the machine
no longer responds. Then increase sensitivity 1
unit.
ii) Physiological apnoea, for example following
hyperventilation.
iii)Fault with anaesthesia equipment
preventing patient breathing.
iv)Sensor disconnected from patient or
machine.
v) Leakage from around cuff of E.T. tube.
vi) Patient hypothermia.
Decide if some action is needed. Possibly the
machine needs re-adjusting to a longer time
setting or higher sensitivity.
During longer procedures an increase in
sensitivity will be needed. Reasons include
patient temperature falling, gas temperature in
circuit increasing and respiratory pattern
changing to deeper breaths less often.
Installation
IMPORTANT This procedure only takes a short
time at the beginning of each anaesthetic and
ensures the Apalert is adjusted to the patient. If
the patients respiratory tidal volume drops
significantly during the anaesthetic the machine
can detect this and sound the alarm.
A mounting bracket is supplied.
It is suggested the bracket be used to attach
Apalert onto anaesthesia machine, then being
safe from accident damage and yet immediately
ready to be used.