Excess pressure for mercury

2000/10/17 Mendiburu, Joana - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Industria
• Patenteak/Asmakizunak

The most known but polluting manometer is the one containing mercury. The device ‘Green light 300’ will replace the one used for more than a hundred years.

Low or too high blood pressure is often a sign of poor health. For this reason, when going to the doctor with any disease, it is customary that you leave the consultation pressed.

To measure the patient's blood pressure, doctors use the sphygmomanometer. For this purpose, a band is established that can blow around the patient's arm. Then, the doctor inflates the band with a rubber peral until it prevents blood circulation that passes through the artery of the arm. The maximum pressure is the pressure necessary to reach this situation. By letting the wind come out and hearing again the noise of blood circulation, the doctor reads a low pressure.

There are two types of sphygmomanometers in the market. One is usually used by doctors in their practice, without mercury, but less precise, and another, which we see in the hospitals, with mercury and much more precise.

Mercury sphygmomanometer

The latter, which has shown its value and is of great precision, has an obvious drawback: one of its components is mercury.

Mercury, like lead and zinc, is a heavy metal and harmful to health. Heavy metals are introduced into the body through breathing, blood, or the food chain. It is evident, therefore, that even though the device is very used and forget about the dangers, nurses, doctors and patients are in danger.

Aware of this danger, the University of Newcastle and the Hospital have developed a new apparatus that has called Green Light 300. The device uses a silicon chip sensor to read the pressure. To facilitate the reading of the information, the pressure is represented on a screen that emits green light and hence the name of the device. Moreover, like the sphygmomanometer, the new device is made up of inflatable band and is of great precision.

Gradually the new apparatus will reduce the use of these devices with mercury, as has happened with the thermometer. From now on, this operation of such frequent pressure in hospitals by doctors and nurses poses no risk to anyone.