Mercury Free Sphygmomanometer Available
The Philippine Star
Updated January 10, 2009
On July 27 last year, Health Secretary
Francisco Duque III issued Department Personnel Order No. 2007-2192 on the creation of a committee on the phaseout of
mercury in all Philippine health care facilities and institutions.
This followed the memorandum issued on Feb. 12, 2007
Health Undersecretary Ethelyn Nieto, M.D., addressed to all regional/hospital directors on the guidelines for
handling elemental mercury spills at home, school, and medical facilities.
It is a recognized fact that elemental mercury, which
can readily vaporize at room temperature, is hazardous to both environment and health. Exposure from it can damage
directly the body, which includes the nerves, the eyes, and the reproductive system, among others.
As stated by the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration of the United States government and the country’s own Bureau of Working Condition, exposure to mercury
vapor should not exceed an eight-hour time weighted average of 1 mg/10 cubic meter (about the size of 10 executive tables
side by side) or 0.1 mg/ cubic meter.
As the hazard of mercury is considered closely today,
alternatives are being explored actively. A&D UM101 mercury-free sphygmomanometer is now considered a direct,
acceptable alternative by medical practitioners. Instead of using mercury, it has an LCD bar. It still requires a
medical professional to listen for the Korotkoff sound to determine a patient’s systolic and diastolic blood
pressure levels.
The A&D UM101 mercury-free sphygmomanometer is clinically
validated by the European Society of Hypertension. It automatically yields pulse rate and minimizes human errors,
which are related to poor recall, rounding off, and non-eye level reading, as it allows the user to mark where the
systolic and diastolic sounds occurred.
It allows multi-angle reading. The sleek, robust, and
easy-to-carry mercury-free sphygmomanometer has an open system concerning cuffs and comes in three models — desk
top, wall-mounted, and floor standing.
It delivers on productivity gains in high usage
instances and on assured mercury elimination for all.
It is widely used in Japan, US and Europe to date.
It is ISO-certified, CE-marked, and USFDA-registered.
In the Philippines, leading hospitals and doctors now
use the A&D UM101 mercury-free sphygmomanometer. It was even used as an official raffle prize during the 2007
Philippine Heart Association Convention.
The A&D UM101 mercury-free sphygmomanometer is
exclusively imported from A&D Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan by Wellness PRO Inc., a duly BFAD-licensed importer/distributor
of medical devices.