Phillips Heartstart MRX

[btrotta]

I am looking for anyone who has any direct experience with the Phillips MRX monitor. We're in the process of buying a new monitor and we own Zoll's and most of us work at other services that use LP12s so we all know the pluses and minuses of those units. But no one in our area has used the Phillips.

We're intrigued by the features, but concerned about the lack of street-level feedback. So please, if you've used the Phillips and can comment directly on the quality of the tracings, ease of use, susceptibility to interference, ergonomics, etc. let us know.

Thanks

Brian Trotta

[Piker311]

In my experience...i love the LP12s..run the zoll Ms and those are my second choice...the Phillips look pretty but my one problem i would always have is getting the cords all tangled up..was a mess..id say go with the LP12 its proven..to be a decent monitor

[RescueTrash]

We tried them for several months and could not come up with a overwhelming reason to pick one or the other, there was good and bad on both of them. The cords were the one things that was universally hated on the Phillips but they offered to put us together whatever set-up we wanted. We were all set to change from Physio to Phillips but at the last minute they said "By the way these are reconditioned units", we now have new Lp 12's on the way.

[croaker260]

We tested the Phillips when they first came out along with the LP 12 . We had the Zoll M series and had numerous probs with them, so we switched (that should tell you something there).

Had good feedback on both, but at the time the phillips were new, not all the features were out yet, and we didnt want to take a chance with another new product so we went with the P 12 because of Physios proven record. That said, the phillips has a lot going for it, except for a track record.

WIth the 1400 and 1600 I really liked Zoll (Back in the day), but now I highly doubt I would ever personally recommend another zoll product again after my personal experiance with the M series.

[zebra7]

I rank the Philips the leader now, with Zoll number 2 and Medtronic 3.

Medtronic hasn't done anything to advance resuscitation science in years, no new products, and they are STILL stuck on escalating energy...for which they have no data to support their waveform efficacy at the energy levels that they recommend.

Zoll has a good waveform but poor quality on the M Series....by far the industries worst performing unit in a long time. Commonly known at "mmmm, is it going to work?". The E is nothing more than a dressed up M with a bigger battery and a small cramped color screne.

Philips device stands well in ease of use, biphasic technology, CPR feedback etc. The cords have been a problem and Philips has addressed the issue and will continue to respond to feedback from the field....something that ZOLL and Medtronic have not done well at.

Zeb.

[Loco615]

Some of the ERs here have the Philips. They are having issues with them. I witnessed 2 problems.

One was the monitor would not capture for the pacemaker. They brought out the old trusty boat anchor HP and it worked like a charm.

Second was they could not get their monitor to shock one of my pts I brought in. We just used my LP12 until they could get their old trusty HP out.

I saw those monitors at FDIC. Their sales staff were not paramedics or anything!They have no real street users. It just doesnt even look like a monitor that is going to hold up. They could not answer any questions about the unit itself.

We had MRLs for a few years because of low bid. After over 20 incidents of monitor failure. We went put out bids again and recieved the LP12. Overall a very rugged unit but the Zoll M series is pretty good also.

[DoubleG]

We have had 12 for two years. Artifact makes all 12 leads non diagnostic. Most of the time it is impossible to determin the rhythm at all. NIBP very seldom works. We call it the random number generator. It is a great concept and it works well with a simulator, but not on a patient. Philips keeps making promises of "lets try one more thing". We ran a strip with a Lifepack 12 and an MRX using the same electrodes on the same PT. The Philips engineer said "I see no difference". There was an obvious difference. The philips had so much artifact you could not find a P wave.
I have had it alarm asystole with a rate of 60. All patients appear to be in V tach or V fib. Alarms are constantly going off, scaring patients.
The MRX completley failed on a 20 YOF with menengitis. I had a strip of a sinus rhythm from a Lifepack the fire dept had. The Philips only said RA off LA off. Never did get the MRX to work. On arrival at the ER , when the pt was put on the hospital monitor, she was in V Tach with a pulse. Now that felt good. Cardioverted 3x. She is now dead.
Buy a Philips if you like, not me said the redneck.

[ADSNWFLD]

I'll let you know. My pt gig just got them.

[medicmaster]

The MRX could've been a great monitor. The problem was, Phillips was far to eager to get their product out there without working the bugs out. They banked on the idea that by putting a flashy new monitor on the market with neat little CPR toys and a color screen that they would sell like hot cakes. They played the "sexiness" card and it worked....

I was there at EMSExpo in Las Vegas back in 2003 when they were unveiled. They spent a chunk of change renting out a nightclub at the Bellagio and having an open bar to pump up the publicity for their new toy.

They were in the process of Beta testing them then, but would still take orders for them...of which quite a few were placed.

I have heard nothing good about them since.


As for other choices. Zoll sucks! Pure and simple. We are stuck with the new E's here and hardly anyone likes them. As far as I am concerned, they are the M series in a new housing with a color screen.

Where I used to work, we got LP12s about a year before I left (after several unpleasant experiences with the Zoll M Series previously). I was strongly opposed to getting them, but after using them in the 911 and Critical Care IFT environment, they are hands down the most reliable, user friendly and all around best monitor I have yet to encounter.

[armymedic571]

I use both the MRX and LP12. I will say both have good and bad points. The MRX is pretty, but I will agree that it does not filter out artifact as well as the 12. When you do your 12-lead, even if you adjust your filters, you can never seem to get a crisp tracing.
However, I have never hada problem with the defib/cardiovert/pacing options and have had better success than with the LP12. I will admit that the length of the cables is a little long, butsome equipment managment shoudl fix that.
When we bought ours, the rep we got was a field medic from Pittsburgh, and quite knowledgable about his product.
The thing I like the most is the battery. It can last for over five hours and be used for upteen shocks without wearing out, which seems to be a problem that physio cannot fix, even with their new battery technology. The unit can also be charged without removing the battery. You can plug the monitor into the truck or into the wall and charge or plug it in without a battery if necessary. The cord is a standard computer cable. So in a pinch, if the pt has a computer, you have a cord.

Other than that they are pretty much the same.

[croaker260]

interesting enough, I thought that both Physio and MRX used the same 12 lead software...anyone confirm this?

-Steve

[armymedic571]

Croaker,
I was under the impression that Phillips had updated their software in the lat two years or so... but then again that info came from the rep...

[medicone513]

We now have the Philips and wish we could go back to the LP's. The Philips looks nice but we are having a lot of problems with artifact, alarms, and the blood pressure cuff. The LP doesn't look as nice but it works.

[biggravy]

With Medtronic's recent announcement that they are temporarily withdrawing from the US market, I wonder how that will change things?

After moving to my current position, I can now say I have used LP12, Zoll, and Philips. I had previously rated the Zoll as better than the LP although I was unhappy with the diagnostic quality of 12 leads with both. The Phillips is slightly better IMHO, slightly. After consulting with our rep, 12 lead quality was improved by adjusting the internal configuration. I also appreciate the ease of altering alarms, configs, etc. and the plug in charger is a big plus.

[FireMedAS]

interesting enough, I thought that both Physio and MRX used the same 12 lead software...anyone confirm this?

I can confirm that Physio and ZOLL use the GE/Marquette 12SL ECG algorithm, but I'm not sure about Philips. A fairly extensive search of their website gives no indication of what software they use. It's amazing how little support has gone into the marketing of the MRX product. The sales rep I met at a trade show was clueless, had no EMS background at all, and apparently no one is dedicated to education and implementation. Between that and some of the comments I've heard on this thread, I can't help but wonder what the management over at Philips is thinking. It's clear they don't understand this market. Too bad, because I liked the graphic user interface. The monitor (at least at first glance) appeared to be the best of both worlds.

[eppop128]

I also have used both the MRX & LP 12. The service i worked at before i became a medic ( & still do a little part time) has an MRX. They are not happy with it, but that is not performance based. We had many problems with Phillips holding up their end of the $3000 extended warrenty & service package that we purchased. It seemed that we could never get a straight answer to any question about the monitor that we may have had. The dealer that we bought it from told us that we were the first service that he had sold one to (this was just after the MRX hit the market) so we would be his test service & we understood that. We did trials with the Zoll M series and didn't like how 'crowded' it was with everything in it. There were as many up's as downs to the LP 12 as there were the MRX when crew feedback came in. We went with the MRX because they beat physio on price and also to do something a little different because at that point no one else in upstate SC had one. It also seems that the NIBP & ETC02 are supposed to get yearly calibration that the Phillips rep failed to inform us about and is very costly. Our QAO priced it and it would cost aprox $550 - 650 to get a phillips tech to come perform this service, as it is convienently not covered under the sercvice plan that Phillips offers. You can purchase the equipment to do this work yourself for about $1800. Untill it is done , you get a reminder on the top of the screen anytime the monitor is on.
As far as artifact, we have had no more problems than with any other monitor. Skin prep was found to be key for us to get accurate clean 12 leads. We did have a problem with the monitor alarming Asystole on a patient that was talking to me one day, and it was found to be a bad cable. replacement cables were ordered and came in about 5 days later and the monitor has worked fine since.

[justaguy]

We have had six Phillips monitors in service for the past two years. No real problems except with the cable system which has been resolved with a new single 5 on 5 cable which allows 12 lead monitoring without switching cables. These monitors have been on fire engines and are holding up well. Vastly superior than other products we field tested.

[laxmedic]

Our service has been using the MRx for several years and as far as I know has not had any major failures. It seems our machines have held up pretty well to some pretty serious abuse. The 12-leads are ok...not great. It would be nice if we had the larger printer though to be able to read them a little easier. The common problem we seem to have is with the blood pressure measurement. We regularly see it read BP's in the 60's or 180/190's systolic with a patient that 5 minutes ago was normotensive by auscultation with no specific reasons for the change. With a re-take, it seems to "find the right numbers." So it seems that rather give the ?-?/?-? (as I'm sure you MRx users are oh-so familiar with :] ), it gives a whacked out low or high reading. I must say though, that I love me some ETCO2 monitoring on this thing.

[DoubleG]

In my opinion Philips MRX still sux, and I got bumper stickers made that say so.

[Kfyr2323]

We have had them over a year now. Intially we were told be gentle with them they were not very durable. I proved them wrong when I lost mine at 65 MPH when it was left on the tailboard. Still Miss my HP though.