TRAINING VIDEOS AND
TRAINING INFORMATION
FOR THE CARDIO WAVE ANALYZER

4 Minute Overview Video

TRAINING VIDEO NUMBER 1. SETUP AND ARTERIAL REPORT

TRAINING VIDEO NUMBER 2. ANS (STRESS) REPORT

Performing the Test

• The temperature of a room should be comfortable. If the clinic is kept cold or the climate is cold, then pay attention to make sure that the patient is warmed up before the test and does not have cold hands. Keep in mind that the device is using the volume of blood at the fingertip to track the heart and arteries. If the hands are cold, circulation to the fingertips can be too low for an accurate reading. (Disposable hand warmers can kept available in case of cold hands).
• For most accurate results, do not perform the test if the patient has recently taken caffeine. Do not let the patient smoke before the test. It is important not to test directly after a full meal. For most accurate results, the test should be done on an empty stomach or mostly empty stomach (digestion can cause the body to tighten outer arteries and push blood to the internal organs and after a full meal this can result in significant fluctuations in score).
• Attach the finger clip lightly to the left index finger, making sure the clip is fully seated onto the finger. Make sure the finger clip is not being squeezed. There should be no pressure on the clip. For example a person who tucks their hands under their thighs will get an inaccurate readings. The hand should be approximately at heart level or a little below heart level, resting comfortably, for example on a table top or on a pillow in the lap.
• The patient should not move or talk and should keep their eyes open during the test. The patient should breathe normally during the test. The patient should not meditate or try to influence the test

 IMPORTANT- Detecting Invalid Test Results

Important: Cold hands on the patient are the most common problem with the Cardio Wave Analyzer Test.

When the CardioWA is not reading the patient its normally caused by cold hands, patient moving or talking, or patient has an irregular heartbeat that prevents the CardioWA from getting a clean reading. 

An Inaccurate or Invalid Test Can Be Seen in a Number of Ways.

Seeing an Invalid Test in the Arterial Part of the Test

While the test is running you can often tell just by looking at the PTG graph that the patient is not reading properly (likely cold hands) – the PTG graph will show one or more of the following

• PTG graph coarse and saw toothed.
• PTG graph completely flatlined
• Heart rate showing impossibly high or low

Then after the arterial test has completed you can see the invalid test in the Arterial Type percentage scores. If the machine cannot read the heart beats clearly you will see that the dominant Arterial Type score is less than 50%. (Dominant arterial type is always more than 50% of the heart beats in accurate tests). In such cases where the machine cannot get a clean reading you will see the Arterial Type spread over 3-4 different types.

Its not unusual for patients to have a dominant Arterial Type and a sub-dominant arterial type. For Example Type 4 60% and Type 5 40% is or some version of that is common enough.

An invalid test will show something like Type 2= 23%, Type 4 =37% and Type 5= 30%. That means that machine can’t read the patient.

All these things normally indicate that the finger clip cannot read the patients finger. Warm up the hands and any of these issues that are present will disappear as long as the patient is performing the test according to the rules, sitting normally, breathing normally, awake and not moving or talking.

Seeing an Invalid Test in the ANS part of the Test

Ectopic Beats: The ANS test will show the number of ectopic beats on the report. If you have more than 5 ectopic beats you must perform the test again. Check that the patient has warm hands with good circulation and stay with the patient and make sure they are not moving or talking during the test and that they are not sleeping or deliberately altering their breathing. If the second test shows more than 5 ectopic beats the results cannot be considered accurate. The patient has an arrhythmia and you must address this first. When a patients heart is not able to beat in a steady and normal manner, it is not possible to accurately test them using the arterial pulse wave. The out-of-kilter heart beat will throw off the result. An arrhythmia can be caused by something as simple as the patient drinking too much coffee. You will need to investigate and handle the arrhythmia first.

Caffeine in coffee and energy drinks, alcohol, smoking and tiredness or disturbed sleep are the common causes of ectopic heartbeats. Often patients will immediately improve once they cease the stimulants and start sleeping better.  (Hormonal changes such as those seen in pregnancy or during the menopause may also cause ventricular ectopics. Occasionally viral infections of the lining of the heart may cause ectopics.)

VASCULAR AGE OF ARTERIES

Please see the written manual for more information on all aspects of CardioWA Testing. Note that the Cardio Wave Analyzer is an informational tool, giving a unique insight into patient cardio health. Diagnosis must be done by a qualified medical practitioner. 

THE SOFTWARE SET UP WINDOW

(Last option on the Main Menu)

Language: You may select a user interface language.

Test Time: You may select a longer test time for the Stress Test (5 Minutes). The longer test period will give a more accurate result. Note that the arterial test time cannot be changed and is always 1 minute.

Reference Type: The machine has two calibrations, one for Eastern populations and one for Western Populations.

User Name: You May Enter Your Practice Name

Telephone: You May Enter Your Phone Number

Printing Options: If you have version 6.0 of the Software or higher, you will have the option to print or save an image of the report.

Replacement Parts