President ....................................................................................................... Shrikant Chaudhary
Vice President ................................................................................................... Hank Hamarman
Secretary .................................................................................................................... Ken Wilde
Treasurer .............................................................................................................. Jonathan Gaev
Officer At-Large ....................................................................................................... Jim Marsala
Officer At-Large .................................................................................................... Lou Schonder
Past President ......................................................................................................... Scott Leshner

15th SYMPOSIUM ON COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN MEDICAL CARE

November 17-20, 1991
Contact: The George Washington University Medical Center Office of Continuing Education
2300 K Street
Washington, DC 20037

PAMIA MEETING

December 1991
Topic: ZOLL Non-Invasive Pacemaker/Defibrillator Technical Presentation
Place: Abington Memorial Hospital
1992 PAMIA Executive Board Election results will be announced!

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY SYMPOSIUM

The Midwest Biomedical Society has announced the dates for their Medical Technology Symposium for April 23-25, 1992, River Grove (Chicago), IL Triton College. Contact Louie Young on ECRINet for details.

P.I.P.E MEDICAL GAS SEMINAR

Medical Gas System Training and Certification Sacramento CA, February 26-28, 1992 The seminar will be held at the BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING CENTER, 9342 Tech Center Drive, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA Phone (916) 362-4222, or DATA (916) 362-4298. For application and information leave a message on ECRINet, or contact P.I.P.E., 501 Shatto Place, Suite 405, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 382-5255.

PAMIA PHEEDBACK!!!

In each issue of the PAMIA Newsletter, objective topics are presented, with the intention that the PAMIA Membership reply with opinions. Feedback ranging from simple votes to editorials are encouraged. Ideas for future "PAMIA PHEEDBACK" topics are greatly appreciated.

Issue #2 topic: Traditionally, most equipment has been on a semi-annual inspection cycle, following JCAHO guidelines prior to the 1989 change to a minimum annual inspection. Is an annual inspection sufficient for most devices as a "default" inspection frequency, with exceptions checked more or less frequently? (Topic idea submitted by Patrick Philbin, Graduate Health Systems)

Replys: None! The success of "PAMIA PHEEDBACK!!!" depends upon YOU!!! It's VERY easy to place as little as a simple vote to reply!!! Do it today! Put it off, and you'll forget! Anonymous replies can be accepted.

Many people have stated their interest in this feature, however, the second time around, no one replyed!!! Do YOUR part! Keep PAMIA Pheedback alive!!! This issue's topic will a second attempt of the Issue #2 topic.

OVER THE COUNTER

Textbooks and trade magazines, which are indispensable for keeping up to date in our field, aren't the only sources of information in Clinical Engineering.

In each issue of the PAMIA Newsletter, "Over The Counter" briefly lists articles, in commercial magazines, pertaining (or closely pertaining) to Biomedical Instrumentation. The following magazines are presently being covered: Popular Science, Technology Review, Radio Electronics, In Health, Health, Discover, and Reader's Digest.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN - June 1991 * Laser Surgery

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW - October 1991 * "Scalpel! Clamp! Floppy Disk!" (Computer-Aided Surgery)

RADIO ELECTRONICS - July 1991 * A/D & D/A Conversion

RADIO ELECTRONICS - July/August 1991 * "Build Your Own EKG!" (Two part series)

RADIO ELECTRONICS - November 1991 * Doppler Heart Sound Monitor Kit!

RADIO ELECTRONICS - December 1991 * Build a PC Controlled Battery Charger/Discharger * "Build an Electronic Fuse"

DISCOVER - November 1991 * "Bytes of Life" (Organic Based Circuitry)

HEALTH - May 1991 * "Wired for a Miracle" (Biofeedback advances)

NEW YORK TIMES - Weekly * Science Update Have you seen articles recently that may be suitable for "Over the Counter"? Please share your finding with other PAMIA Members!!! Instructions for submitting to the PAMIA Newsletter can be found elsewhere in this issue!!!

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE ARTICLES, ETC. TO THE PAMIA NEWSLETTER

Success of our newsletter depends on YOU, the PAMIA membership!!! Article contributions are STRONGLY encouraged. Suggested material includes: Repair/PM Tips and/or findings, Editorials, Humor/Cartoons, General News, Department Profiles, Equipment Evaluations, and a Classified section including: Positions Wanted/Available and Used Equipment/Parts Wanted/Available.

Any other ideas? The suggestion box is always open... The preferred method is to upload ASCII text files (no control codes), PCX or TIF graphics to the "PAMIA Lounge" on ECRINet,(215) 825-9284. Commodore PETSCII files can also be uploaded and converted to ASCII. Indicate file type when uploading PETSCII!!!

...or US Snail contributions to: PAMIA NEWSLETTER c/o Lou Schonder 26 West Greenwood Avenue Lansdowne, PA 19050-1913 (215) 259-0328 Anyone interested in providing a regular feature for the newsletter please feel free to call or write!!! Get in on the ground floor!!!

CCP REQUESTS USED EQUIPMENT

They lurk outside your Biomed lab in the hallway. Or under benches. Maybe in dark closets in the basement. Possibly even on shelves that you'd like to use for other purposes!!! What can be done, you may ask, to manage this growing problem? The Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) offers help. The Community College of Philadelphia is in need of equipment for student's "hands on" laboratory work. Devices of recent vintage are preferred. The top priority is the device's usefulness in preparing students for "what's out there", not "the way it was"! Devices requiring minor repairs are OK. Service and Operating Manuals to accompany equipment are HIGHLY desired. Also, Service Manuals in general are welcome. Please contact Randy Libros at CCP, 751-8318.

Note: Before donating equipment, be sure you have notified and/or received authorization of the proper reporting channels in your facility!!!

INDUSTRIAL-SIZE RED TAPE

Every Biomedical/Clinical Engineering magazine/journal you read is mentioning the soon to be implemented "Safe Medical Devices Act of 1990" (Public Law 101-629). To keep up with the big boys, the PAMIA Newsletter is doing the same!!!

Briefly, the new law requires that death or serious injuries to patients caused by medical devices are reported to the FDA. This law goes into effect November 28, 1991, although final regulations will not be available until next year. The Hospital Association of Pennsylvania Communications Services Department can provide a copy of the Act, along with explanatory text. Call voice mailbox (800) 255-7293, and ask for "Safe Medical Devices Act".

PAMIA MEETING MINUTES
by Lou Schonder

May Meeting: Frank Sharer of Hahnemann Hospital obtained use of Hahnemann's Executive Board Room on the hospital's top floor, with a striking view of Center City Philadelphia. Speakers included Robert Mosenkis of CITECH, Frank Sharer, Director of Clinical Engineering at Hahnemann Hospital, and Mediq-PRN.

Mr. Mosenkis introduced CITECH, and explained the advantages of CITECH Certification for device manufacturers and end users. For further information, call CITECH at (215) 825-6700.

Frank Sharer shared (pun intended!) his story of how he developed his very successful In-House Radiology Program, and gave encouragement and pointers to PAMIA members considering doing the same.

Mediq-PRN discussed services available for Radiology Equipment Programs. June Meeting: PAMIA's Annual Spring Meeting hosted by Hewlett-Packard at their Valley Forge Office was, as usual, exceptional. The technical presentation by HP introduced extended EEG monitoring for ICU applications. Extensive EEG trend graphing and improved real-time displays were demonstrated, technology that will take EEG into the '90's and beyond.

1st Annual Picnic: Temperatures flirted with triple digits during PAMIA's first-ever picnic!!! Two (count 'em, two) pools were available to cool things down (OK, so they were kiddie pools)! There was plenty of good food and drink, along with outright fun!!! The picnic provided a rare opportunity for PAMIA members to meet one another's families, and to socialize in a casual setting.

After this year's fun, a strong effort will be made to get more members out in the Summer of '92!!! Maybe the water balloon fights will turn into an All-Out War!!!

October Outing: All that was missing was the school bus! Don James, Customer Service Manager at Olympus Corporation's Columbia, Maryland Facility, gave a top-notch presentation on Fiber-Optic Endoscopes, along with an interesting tour. Most members attending moved on to Baltimore's Inner Harbor for dinner and relaxation!!! Hats off to Shree for arranging an unusual meeting!

October Meeting: In what may become an annual event, PAMIA, The Community College of Philadelphia and Delaware County Community College met in a Roundtable Forum in an effort to coordinate and improve BMET education. Among topics discussed was Internship Programs, continuing education for working BMET's, and college curriculum. A major concern was lack of quality time devoted to Interns. Stories surfaced of Interns spending too much time with lower-level devices, in essence acting as "IV Pump Inspection Jockeys", and not obtaining exposure and hands-on experience with higher-level devices. If the success of a PAMIA Meeting is measured by how long it takes everyone to leave, then this meeting ranked very high! The Upper Darby High School custodian had to actually ASK us to leave! As mentioned earlier, this meeting should start what should be a continuing relationship between PAMIA and the colleges.

MOROCCAN MADNESS A TASTY HIT!

The most enjoyable and successful PAMIA Annual Dinner ever was held Saturday, November 16th at the Al-Khimah restaurant in New Jersey. Al-Khimah means "The Tent" in Arabic and more than 100 PAMIA Members ate and enjoyed the sensual gyrations of belly dancers under a Moroccan canopy. The food was right out of a Middle Eastern dream and the entertainment a real eye-opener! Our treasurer showed his style (and quite a lot of belly) as he danced a duet for all assembled. Not bad Jonathan - but don't quit your day job!

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