How to Maintain Medical Devices

Home medical devices are precision instruments, even the inexpensive ones. Dust, moisture, worn parts and flat batteries all affect their readings. A few minutes of routine care keeps them accurate, hygienic and ready when you need them. This guide sets out what to do and how often.

The four parts of maintenance

1. Cleaning: for hygiene and to keep sensors working.
2. Power: batteries and adapters.
3. Inspection: looking for wear and damage.
4. Accuracy checks: confirming the device still measures correctly.

The instruction leaflet for your device takes priority over any general advice, including this article.

Cleaning

General rules

• Wash your hands before and after handling devices.
• Wipe with a soft cloth, slightly dampened with water or the cleaning agent named in the instructions.
• Never immerse electronic devices or hold them under running water.
• Do not use abrasive cleaners, bleach or solvents unless the instructions allow them.
• Let devices dry completely before storing them.

The CDC advises cleaning surfaces before disinfecting them and notes that routine disinfection at home is generally needed only when someone is ill. The same thinking applies to shared devices: clean always, and disinfect as the manufacturer directs when the user is sick or the device is shared.

By device

• Digital stick thermometer: clean the tip before and after each use as directed, commonly with soap and cool water or an alcohol wipe. Dry it and return it to its case.
• Infrared forehead thermometer: keep the sensor lens clean and dust-free. The FDA advises following the cleaning and disinfecting section of the product instructions.
• Blood pressure monitor: wipe the casing. Clean the cuff as directed; most cuffs must not be machine washed.
• Pulse oximeter: wipe the inside of the finger clip and the casing between users.
• Blood glucose meter: clean and disinfect as the instructions describe. The FDA advises that meters should not be shared, to reduce the risk of transmitting bloodborne infections.
• Scales: wipe the platform; keep the feet clean and the surface underneath level.
• Pill organizers: wash by hand in warm soapy water and dry thoroughly before refilling.

Batteries and power

• Replace batteries as soon as the low-battery symbol appears. Weak batteries can cause errors or failed measurements.
• Replace all batteries at once with the same type; do not mix old and new.
• Remove batteries if the device will not be used for several months, to prevent leakage.
• Keep spare batteries with your devices.
• Keep button batteries away from children. Swallowed button batteries can cause serious internal injury; seek emergency care immediately.
• Use only the power adapter specified by the manufacturer.

Inspection

Look over each device every month or two.

• Blood pressure monitor: cracks or stiffness in the tubing, a worn or fraying cuff, a loose connector, a cuff that no longer fastens firmly.
• Thermometers: cracks in the casing or tip, a scratched or dirty lens.
• Pulse oximeter: a weak spring, a cracked window.
• Glucose meter: dirt in the strip port.
• All devices: dim or incomplete display segments, corrosion in the battery compartment.

Replace damaged parts with those recommended by the manufacturer. Do not repair devices yourself.

Accuracy checks

Blood pressure monitors

The British Heart Foundation advises having a home monitor serviced and calibrated at least every two years. Contact the manufacturer for its recommendation. In between, take the monitor to an appointment and compare its reading with the clinic’s measurement. Read more in how to maintain a blood pressure monitor.

Blood glucose meters

Use control solution, if your meter’s instructions describe it, when you open a new pack of strips, after dropping the meter or when results do not match how you feel. Check strip expiry dates and store strips in their original closed container.

Thermometers

There is no home calibration. If readings seem implausible, compare with a second thermometer on the same person at the same time, check the battery and review your technique. Replace a thermometer you no longer trust.

Pulse oximeters

Compare with a clinic reading at an appointment. Replace a device that gives erratic results despite good technique and fresh batteries.

Scales

Weigh a known weight occasionally, and always use the scale on a hard, flat floor.

Storage

• Cool, dry and away from direct sunlight.
• Not in a bathroom, a car or near a heater.
• In the case or box supplied.
• With tubing loosely coiled, not kinked.
• Out of the reach of children and pets.

For infrared thermometers, the FDA notes that the device should be placed in the room where it will be used for 10 to 30 minutes beforehand, so avoid moving it between hot and cold places just before measuring. See also how to store and care for monitoring devices.

A simple maintenance schedule

After every use

• Clean contact surfaces.
• Return the device to its case.

Monthly

• Wipe casings.
• Check batteries and displays.
• Inspect cuffs, tubing and clips.

Every six months

• Check expiry dates of strips, control solution and probe covers.
• Compare a reading with another device or at the clinic, if you can.
• Review the instructions.

Every two years

• Have the blood pressure monitor checked or serviced, or follow the manufacturer’s interval.

Keep records

Note the purchase date, model and serial or lot number of each device, and keep the instructions. These details help with warranty claims and let you check whether a recall applies to your device.

When to replace a device

• It is damaged or has been dropped and now behaves differently.
• Readings are inconsistent despite correct use.
• Parts or consumables are no longer available.
• It is subject to a recall that calls for replacement.
• The manufacturer’s stated service life has passed.

Disposal

Remove batteries and recycle them where facilities exist. Ask your local authority about electronic waste. Used lancets and needles go in a sharps container, never loose in the trash.

The bottom line

Clean, power, inspect and check: four habits that keep home medical devices dependable. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions first. Find devices and accessories in our medical supplies department.

Sources

1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Home Use Devices.
2. British Heart Foundation. How to measure your blood pressure at home.
3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices.
4. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Non-contact Infrared Thermometers.
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When and How to Clean and Disinfect Your Home.