Biomedical equipment considerations for aeromedical transports

Due to the eight stresses of flight and Federal Aeronautics Administration (FAA) requirements, biomedical equipment that is utilized in aeromedical transports presents certain challenges that the biomedical department should be aware of. U.S. Air Force military studies of a large number of specific models are available through the government. This author recommends prepurchase flight tests and input from flight crews to ensure safe operation of any new equipment. The equipment should also be designed for air transport. Permanent pacemakers should be programmed to a non-atrial sensing mode or an asynchronous mode before the patient is on board the aircraft. Temporary pacers and automatic defibrillators should also be set to a mode where the vibrations of flight will not trigger any errant behavior. With the proper precautions, aeromedical transports will continue to be a rapidly growing transport system for both trauma patients and intrahospital transfers. With a little research, the biomedical engineer can also be a valuable asset to the ground support crew.