Mindray’s A9 anesthesia system will train the next generation of healthcare engineers at a top UK training center

Eastwood Park is one of the UK’s most prestigious training centers for healthcare engineering, decontamination, and estates and facilities management.

Thanks to the continuous partnership and trust, as well as the innovative features of the solution, the A9 anesthesia system was chosen to form part of Eastwood Park's brand-new world-class training center which was opened by HRH The Princess Royal on 4th April 2023. 

Enhancing training experience through critical equipment upgrade

Formerly a dedicated NHS training center, demand for Eastwood Park's training has grown substantially since it was established in 1969 and attracts students from as far as Africa and the Middle East.

The quality of training has seen its Biomedical Equipment Maintenance Practice (EMBC) course approved by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM),the UK's professional body for physicists, engineers and technologists. 

The aspiration for the new training facility was to provide a more modern and immersive learning environment with dedicated classrooms and workshops equipped with cutting-edge technologies. As their anesthesia machines was now obsolete, the hunt began for a replacement.

The device is a critical part of training in several healthcare engineering courses, including EMBC, servicing anesthesia and ventilation, safety testing of electrical medical equipment (IEC 60601 + 62353), and medical networking and cybersecurity. The new equipment had to show students the progression of technology while remaining easy to use as Eastwood Park courses focus on the underpinning principles of device operation, supported by hands-on tasks such as practical performance verification and electrical safety testing best practice in accordance with BS 62353:2014.

Embracing new technologies

Having used Mindray BeneVision patient monitors previously, Eastwood Park knew that our equipment was intuitive and easy to use, and that we could be relied on for excellent service, installation, and ongoing support. 

With its intuitive design and simple software navigation, the A9 was selected as the optimal solution for Eastwood Park medical department. Its ease of use has meant students can easily complete software driven visual checks – such as the pneumatic locking mechanism of the vaporisers – and stay engrossed in their tasks. 

Another important factor was that the A9 shows the progression of technologies, such as: 

• Automatic adjustments in fresh gas and vaporiser output • High flow nasal cannula (HFNC); 
• Volume exchanger (VE) as an innovative breathing system 
• Anaesthetic Gas usage prediction and optimiser; 
• Additional alarms – e.g. vaporiser refill.

Eastwood Park's new medical department provides a more realistic setting for training with the addition of medical gases. It will also enhance curriculum with an independent ethernet infrastructure solely for training clinical technologists and engineers. When fully implemented, students will be able to work on interoperability between devices, EPRs, and centralised equipment monitoring during courses on medical device networking and cyber security. 

Mindray is in discussions with the educational teams to support the connectivity work so that students can deepen their understanding of the complexities of networking, such as interaction with legacy equipment.

Looking into the future

Mindray will continue to support the center as it develops its curriculum, particularly in connectivity so students can optimise digital workflows for engineering and clinical teams through remote monitoring of equipment, centralised deployment of updates to multiple devices and ensuring two-way interoperability between EPRs and monitoring devices.

The partnership with Eastwood Park is fairly unique for Mindray. The possibilities to develop skillsets within the NHS system and healthcare providers globally provides an excellent opportunity to empower them to optimize digital workflows - making a lasting impact in the healthcare industry.