Philips MP60/70/80/90 Manuale Utente

Setting the tcGas Sensor Temperature

In the 

menu, select 

.

Choose a temperature value appropriate for your patient’s age, weight and physical condition in 
accordance with your hospital policy.

Usually, a higher transducer temperature gives a better correlation and a quicker response time. 
However, higher temperatures also increase the risk of skin burns. Most physicians prefer a 
temperature between 42°C (107° F)

 

and 44°C (111° F), and a site time of four hours or less. 

Usually, the higher the transducer temperature, the less the site time should be. Whenever you 
change the temperature setting, the monitor forces you to make a new calibration.

Availability and behavior of the site timer depend on your monitor’s configuration.

Prolonged continuous monitoring may increase the risk of undesirable changes in skin characteristics, 
such as irritation, reddening, blistering or burns. If the site timer is disabled, the transducer will heat 
indefinitely while on a patient. Change the site regularly, in accordance with medical procedures in 
your hospital.

The site timer helps reduce the risk of skin burn by ensuring that the transducer is used at one site for 
no longer than a predefined period. It reminds you when this period expires.

In the 

menu, select 

.

Choose the time you want the transducer to remain on the measurement site. The optimum time 
depends on the transducer temperature and your patient’s skin sensitivity.

The site timer starts automatically when you remove the calibrated transducer from the calibration 
chamber. If you return the transducer to the chamber and then remove it again, the site time continues 
to count down the remaining time; it does not start a new time period. The time remaining before the 
site timer expires appears in the status line which is visible as long as the 

 menu is 

open. When the time expires, the monitor sounds a tone and a displays a change site INOP. The 
monitor either switches off the transducer heating or continues monitoring, depending on its 
configuration. Although you can reuse the transducer for up to two hours after the heating is switched 
off, without making a new calibration, you are recommended to recalibrate before applying it to a 
patient. After two hours without heat, you must recalibrate.

During the initial few minutes of use, the monitor eliminates false alarms by temporarily suppressing 
tcGas alarms. It displays the “STABILIZING” INOP. After you apply the transducer to the skin, the 
instrument reading slowly assumes a steady value. The reading stabilizes when the measurement site is 
warm and local hyperemization is complete. This takes 10 to 20 minutes for the tcpO

2

 reading and 

three to seven minutes for tcpCO

2

.