Arterial Line Transducer Set-Up

Five Things You Need:
1. 500ml NS
2. Pressure Bag
3. Transducer Set (new sets will have syringe)
4. Transducer Holder (attaches to IV pole)
5. Transducer Pressure Cable

Part I: Preparation and Pressure Bag Set-up
1. Open the transducer set
2. Tighten all the connections on the set
3. Close the syringe (if present). You should feel a click
4. Spike NS bag
5. Place NS in pressure bag and pump to 300mg Hg and turn stopcock to upwards position (to
keep pressure bag inflated)
6. Hang pressure bag with NS on IV pole and clamp IV tubing
7. Clip transducer holder on IV pole so you can read words on it
8. Place syringe in in transducer holder pointing upwards (so you can read label on syringe)
9. Place transducer in transducer holder (so electric cable connector is downwards)

Part 2: Removing all air bubbles from IV tubing
1. Unclamp all the IV tubing
2. Point stopcock at the transducer UPWARDS (off towards the patient)
3. Pull on blue tab and allow fluid to flow from NS bag and out of port with WHITE cap on it at
transducer to clear all air bubbles in first half of IV tubing
4. Now point stopcock at the transducer HORIZONTAL (off towards port with WHITE cap on it)
5. Pull on blue tab and allow fluid to flow from NS bag and out through all the IV tubing

Part 3: Zero the arterial transducer
1. Hook up the Transducer Pressure Cable to the red port on the side of the monitor (use left red
port at NYU on monitor) and then to transducer, a flat pressure wave should appear, you
should see artifact when you move the end of your tubing
2. Level stop-cock on the transducer to the phlebostatic axis of the patient (intersection of 4th
intercostal space and midaxillary line). You are leveling to the heart.
3. Turn the stopcock at the transducer UPWARDS (off to the patient)
4. Take the WHITE cap at the transducer off, now tubing is open to air
5. Hit “Zero” on monitor, then hit “Zero ABP”
6. Replace WHITE cap with BLUE cap (provided in transducer set)
7. Turn stopcock at transducer HORIZONTAL (off to atmospheric air)
8. Attach set-up to patient (you should see a waveform on the monitor)

ENTIRE pressure set-up can be completed and ready to go before arterial line insertion. Don’t wait, you will give yourself more time.

Troubleshooting

Over-damped (Flattened waveform):
- Check set up for air, kinks (most-common problem righ after set up)
- Check to assure pressure bag is fully inflated
- Check to assure no WHITE caps left in the set up
- Check to assure the tubing connected to your patient?
- Check to assure the set-up is levelled correctly
- Check to assure the scale is correct on the monitor

Under-damped (“fling” in waveform):
- Check set-up for air
- Remove extra tubing or extra stopcocks