Differences between Patient Monitors for Humans and Animals

1. Key points of monitoring parameters

Patient Monitor for humans

Electrocardiogram monitoring (ECG): It is particularly important for the diagnosis and monitoring of heart diseases such as arrhythmias. For example, for patients with coronary heart disease, it is necessary to accurately monitor ST segment changes, as this may indicate myocardial ischemia. Normal ECG waveforms include P waves, QRS complexes, and T waves. By observing the morphology and intervals of these waveforms, various arrhythmias such as premature beats and atrial fibrillation can be found.

Blood pressure monitoring: Including non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) and invasive blood pressure (IBP). For patients undergoing major surgery or suffering from serious cardiovascular diseases, invasive blood pressure monitoring can provide more continuous and accurate blood pressure data. Its measurement principle is mainly based on a pressure sensor, which converts the pressure in the blood vessels into an electrical signal for measurement. Non-invasive blood pressure measures blood pressure by inflating and deflating of a cuff based on Korotkoff sounds or oscillation methods.

Blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂): This is a key indicator reflecting the respiratory function and oxygenation status of the human body. It mainly uses infrared light and red light to detect the ratio of oxygenated hemoglobin and reduced hemoglobin in the blood, and the normal range is generally 95% - 100%. It is very critical in the monitoring of patients with respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Respiratory monitoring: It can monitor respiratory rate, respiratory amplitude, etc. For patients using ventilators in the intensive care unit (ICU), it can help medical staff determine whether the patient's spontaneous breathing is synchronized with the ventilator and other information.

Veterinary Patient Monitor

Animal-specific parameter monitoring: The normal physiological parameter ranges of different types of animals are different. For example, the normal heart rate range of dogs is generally 60-180 beats/minute, while the normal heart rate of horses is 28-44 beats/minute. In addition, for some special animals, such as birds, special parameters such as airbag pressure need to be monitored.

Consideration of behavior monitoring related parameters: In animal monitoring, parameters related to animal behavior may need to be considered. For example, when monitoring farm animals, activity level may be an important indicator. By monitoring the amount of activity, it can be determined whether the animal is in a healthy state or estrus. In human monitors, activity monitoring is usually not the core vital sign monitoring indicator.

2. Equipment Design and Adaptability

Human Patient Monitor

Ergonomic design: To facilitate operation and observation by medical staff, the screen of the human monitor is generally designed to be convenient for use at the bedside, and the operation buttons are reasonably arranged to meet the operating habits of medical staff. At the same time, accessories such as electrodes and blood pressure cuffs are also designed according to the anatomical structure of the human body. For example, the length and width of the adult blood pressure cuff have standard sizes suitable for different arm circumferences to ensure the accuracy of the measurement.

Connection method suitable for hospital environment: In places such as hospital wards or operating rooms, human monitors can be easily connected to the hospital's information system (HIS), and can transmit the patient's monitoring data to the nurse station or doctor's office in real time, so that medical staff can check the patient's condition changes in time. At the same time, the power supply of the monitor generally also adapts to the hospital's power socket standards, and many of them are equipped with backup batteries to cope with sudden power outages.

Veterinary Patient Monitor

Adapt to the size and environment of animals: Veterinary monitors need to take into account the size differences of various animals. For large animals such as cattle, special probes and fixtures may be required to ensure the stability of the monitoring equipment. For small pet animals such as hamsters, the equipment requires more sophisticated sensors to adapt to their tiny bodies. Moreover, veterinary monitors may need to be used in different environments, such as farms, animal clinics, and the wild (for wildlife rescue), so the equipment has higher requirements in terms of portability and anti-interference.

Durability Consider animal behavior factors: Animals may bite and scratch the equipment, so the shell of veterinary monitors is generally sturdy, and the connecting wires also need to have good anti-bite performance. At the same time, when the animal struggles or moves, the equipment needs to be able to work stably to ensure the accuracy of the monitoring data.
 

3. Software and Data Analysis

Human Patient Monitor

Integration of disease diagnosis and prognosis analysis software: The software of human monitors usually integrates a wealth of disease diagnosis auxiliary tools. For example, based on the morphology of the electrocardiogram and other vital signs parameters, the software can initially prompt doctors of the possible risk of myocardial infarction in patients. At the same time, for long-term monitoring data, the software can perform trend analysis to help doctors determine whether the patient's condition is improving or worsening. The algorithms of these software are developed based on a large amount of human clinical data.

Data recording format that complies with medical regulations and standards: In terms of medical records, the data records of human monitors must strictly follow medical regulations and standards, such as HL7 (Health Level 7) and other data exchange standards to ensure the integrity, accuracy and security of patient data, and facilitate data sharing and communication between different medical institutions.

Veterinary Patient Monitor

Reference interval settings for animal species adaptation: The software of veterinary monitors is mainly set for the normal physiological parameter range of different animal species. When the monitoring data exceeds the normal range of the animal, the software can alarm in time. However, due to the differences in physiological parameters between different animal species, the software may need to continuously update and improve the reference data of different animal species.

Simple data management for veterinary practice: The data management of veterinary monitors is relatively simple, mainly to provide reference for veterinarians in the daily diagnosis and treatment of animal diseases. Its data format usually does not need to strictly follow the complex medical information exchange standards like human monitors, but it also needs to meet the basic needs of veterinarians to record cases and track treatment effects.