Monitoring the progress of pregnancy and labour is vital for the health of both the mother and the baby. The Bistos BT-300 Fetal Monitor allows medical staff to see fetal heart rates, check contraction intervals and intensity and note movement. 

Setting up the patient monitor is a simple, step-by-step process, so you can be easily alerted to any distress or interventions the patient needs. 

Step 1: Turning it on

Make sure that the BT-300 Fetal Monitor is plugged into a socket and switched on at the wall. Then, turn on the fetal monitor using the black switch at the back of the machine. 

You should see a green LED power light on the front left of the machine when it is powered up. 

Step 2: Connecting the probes

The BT-300 Fetal Monitor comes with various accessories and some optional extras. These include two Doppler probes, a uterine contraction probe and an event marker. 

Plug these into the labelled sockets at the front of the BT-300; for example, ‘DOP1’ is for the first Doppler probe and ‘UC’ is for the uterine contraction probe. 

The event marker probe, designed to help record the exact point of fetal movement during a scan, should be plugged into the ‘mark’ socket. 

Step 3: Loading the paper

The portable BT-300 Fetal Monitor has a built-in printer allowing you to have accurate results strip chart records as the scan is happening. 

Make sure the printing side of the paper is facing upwards and the top to the left side of the machine. Push down the white lever on the right side of the machine to release the paper loader. 

Insert the paper stack and feed the top sheet over the metal roller toward the front of the machine. The paper should be joined to the rest of the concertina stack at the rear of the paper loader. 

Close the access cover of the paper loader so that the start of the paper is fed through the gap at the top of the door.

Step 4: Adjusting the settings

On the front of the monitor are arrow keys and LED number displays for easy reference. Use these to adjust the volume for the Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) dopplers, from level 1 to 7. 

The display labelled UC can be adjusted for measuring uterine contractions. The UC reference is a clinical measurement for monitoring how intense and how synchronised the contractions are and should be adjusted according to base levels in the patient.

It is recommended to start at a setting of 10 for UC reference. 

Step 5: Turning the printer on 

On the right side of the monitor is a green button used to turn the printer on and off. When it is on, the LED light will show. 

Step 6: Turning the alarm on

To turn the alarm on and off, use the orange button on the right side. The alarm will beep if any significant changes occur or if there are technical issues with the machine to let medical staff know when to intervene. 

To change the alarm’s high and low limits, press and hold the alarm button. Date and time can also be adjusted in these settings.

Step 7: Changing printer settings

The BT-300 has several printer settings to make it easier to read the charts. 

A slower printer speed will allow for more detailed reporting of changes. To change the speed, press and hold the button under the UC display until the LED shows ‘SPEEd’ and a number. 

The value can be adjusted using the arrow keys on the left FHR display. The range is between one and three centimetres per minute. 

Using the arrow keys, choose whether to print the fetal movement data denoted as ‘Fm Prn’. If opting to print this data, it will appear on the UC section of the chart. 

Auto print settings can also be changed using the arrow keys – ‘Auto P’ – and can be set to print at intervals of ten to 60 minutes or switched off. 

Offsetting the Doppler printing by 20 bpm will make the chart easier to read when multiple heart rates are monitored. These settings can also be changed using the arrow keys when the display shows ‘Off Set’.

The printer can be zoomed in to a smaller heart rate range, allowing for more detail in the printout. On will print heart rates from 30 to 240 bpm, and off will print from 74 to 200 bpm. 

Use the arrow keys to turn this on and off when Prn EnL is displayed. 

Press the print button again to save all settings and exit. Your BT-300 Fetal Monitor should now be ready to use.