A patient is undergoing open heart surgery

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the calculation of the minimum voltage that could be dangerous during open heart surgery, given a specific current and resistance of the heart. The subject area includes electrical principles related to physiology.

Discussion Character

  • Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the calculation of voltage using Ohm's law, with some questioning the clarity of units and assumptions made in the problem setup. There are different interpretations of the current and resistance values presented.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing different calculations and questioning the units used in the original problem. Some guidance on unit clarity has been offered, but there is no explicit consensus on the correct interpretation of the values.

Contextual Notes

Participants note potential ambiguities in the units of current and resistance, as well as the final voltage result. There is an emphasis on ensuring proper unit usage to avoid confusion.

wanted1
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1 - a patient is undergoing open heart surgery . A sustained current as small as 25 muA passing through the heart can be fatal . Assme that the heart has a constant resistonce of 250 ; detrmine the mininum voltage that poses a danger to the parient .

v= 25 X 250 = 6250
 
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wanted1 said:
1 - a patient is undergoing open heart surgery . A sustained current as small as 25 muA passing through the heart can be fatal . Assme that the heart has a constant resistonce of 250 ; detrmine the mininum voltage that poses a danger to the parient .

v= 25 X 250 = 6250

You need to use proper units in order for your question and answer to be unambiguous. What are the units for resistance? Ohms? What are muA? Does this mean microAmps, or milli-microAmps, or milli-uA (whatever a uA is)? What are the unit for your final answer? Volts, milliVolts or microVolts?

I'll assume that you asking the following ...

"A sustained current of 25 microAmps can be fatal. If the heart has a resistance of 250 Ohms, determine the minimum voltage that can kill.

V = 25 uA x 250 Ohms = 6250 uA = 6.25 milliVolts = 0.00624 Volts.
 
Hi

but I find the answer lile this ??

25 X 250 X(1/10^6) = 1 /160 V

why the answer not as your ?
 
wanted1 said:
Hi

but I find the answer lile this ??

25 X 250 X(1/10^6) = 1 /160 V

why the answer not as your ?

You do get the same answer because 1/160 V is equal to 0.00625 V. (I have a typo in my above post: 0.00624 V should be 0.00625 V)

I would still recommend a little better clarity on your expression. It's not clear if you are using 25 Amps and 250 microOhms, or 26 microAmps and 250 Ohms. Obviously, it's the latter, but the way you write it can confuse someone.
 

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