Lesson 12 — Activity 1: Looking at the Technology
Completion requirements
Lesson 12 — Activity 1: Looking at the Technology
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Have you been to a medical clinic or hospital lately?
If you have, you may have noticed the array of tools that doctors, nurses, and technicians use to know if your body is working properly.
In this activity, you will investigate some of these technological tools.
Nurses and doctors begin by asking how you feel. Your answer gives them information to begin their investigation. Then they use reports from equipment to add to what you've reported to help you recover from injuries or diseases.
Here are some examples of the equipment you might encounter on a trip to the emergency room in a hospital.
You were having a great day on the slopes. You and your buddies had been excited for the first snowboarding trip of the season ... until you hit a bump very hard and landed heavily on your arm and you were knocked unconscious for a few minutes. The ski patrol decided a trip to the emergency room was warranted to make sure you were okay.
At the emergency room ...
the
nurse began by checking your vital signs. A blood pressure cuff was used
to check your blood pressure and a stethoscope was used to check your
heart rate. (Although some medical personnel are now using palm-sized ultrasound devices to allow instant visuals of the heart's structure and function!)
At the emergency room ...
the nurse began by checking your vital signs. A blood pressure cuff was used to check your blood pressure and a stethoscope was used to check your heart rate. (Although some medical personnel are now using palm-sized ultrasound devices to allow instant visuals of the heart's structure and function!)
the nurse began by checking your vital signs. A blood pressure cuff was used to check your blood pressure and a stethoscope was used to check your heart rate. (Although some medical personnel are now using palm-sized ultrasound devices to allow instant visuals of the heart's structure and function!)
You were then hooked up to a CAT scan machine. This was used to take an x-ray picture of your brain to check for internal bleeding or swelling.
Finally, an x-ray was taken of your arm. The x-ray will show any damage to the bones in your arm. X-rays penetrate soft tissues like muscles and skin. It looks like you'll be okay, but your arm will be in a cast for awhile!
Other technologies that are used in hospitals include the following:
An EKG machine provides a printed record of the rate and pattern of a person's heartbeat.
An EEG machine records changes in brain activity. Pens move back and forth to record the readings.
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