You need to perform an ultrasound on your patient. You walk up to the ultrasound and upon grabbing the machine, you notice it’s stuck! You look down and realize the ultrasound probe cable (particularly the linear probe) is impeding the wheel from rolling. You push the machine back, pick the cable up off the floor and off you go to scan to find that the probe is not working. As you try to figure out why it’s not working, you realize that the cable is exposed after repeated damage from the countless times the wheels on the machine rolled over the cable. Let’s prevent this from happening!
The Problem
Trick of the Trade
Use a Lanyard Elastic Coil to prevent the ultrasound probe cable from touching the floor! [Product used: M-Tac Tactical Pistol Lanyard Elastic Coil for Belt or MOLLE with D-Ring Keeper | Amazon] Place one end on the machine and the other approximately 2 feet from its attachment on the machine and, voila!
The Result
Benefits
- Prevents cable damage
- Conveniently extends and retracts cable when in use
- Decreases contamination
- Can be used for the power cord as well
Leoh N. León II, MD
Associate Instructor of Emergency Medicine
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
UCF/HCA Emergency Medicine Residency Program of Greater Orlando
Osceola Regional Medical Center
Latest posts by Leoh N. León II, MD (see all)
- Trick of the Trade: Save the Ultrasound Probe Cable - October 4, 2019
