I hate it when shows get medical stuff wrong

[George K]

This is a minor, minor detail in a show I'm watching. Some guy is in the hospital, having survived a GSW to the head. His only symptom is amnesia.

As ridiculous as it is, that's not my point.

This is.

I spent decades looking at similar screens and waveforms.

So, from to to bottom, we have the following:

• An EKG tracing reflecting a heart rate of 67. So far, so good.
• The next number, 97, is presumably the SaO2. That's good too, but the waveform is totally wrong.
• The next number(s) 122/68 is blood pressure. And that's fine. The waveform to the left of those numbers looks like an intra-arterial line. That would be fine too, if the patient had an intra-arterial line - which he doesn't.
• I have no idea what the "78" is. Next to it is a tracing that looks like an arterial waveform. I suppose it could be a pulmonary artery waveform, but 78 is high for that system. Really high. Also, if that were the case, there should be a diastolic number - so like 78/30
• Finally, the 35 is probably his end-tidal CO2. 35 is a normal, and good number. But you'd only be able to measure it if the patient had a CO2 monitoring device on his airway - and he doesn't. It also looks FAR too regular to be a spontaneous breathing patient. It looks a lot like a ventilator capnograph (CO2 tracing).

Sorry 'bout the rant.

[Doctor Phibes]

As a kid I was always fascinated by this...

!

[George K]

"Brain"
"Lungs"
"Cell Rate"

[Mik]

I want a tricorder.

[jon-nyc]

'78' could be heart rate, but with gibberish waveform.

[George K]

@jon-nyc said in I hate it when shows get medical stuff wrong:

'78' could be heart rate, but with gibberish waveform.

It could be A heart rate, but it's not. The top tracing is ALWAYS the EKG with the heart rate displayed.

[Copper]

The waveforms might be mostly garbage, but they look like they are nicely synchronized.

It was probably plugged into the surgeon's 5-channel graphic equalizer. He was just messing with the pretty colors.