VacuMed | Metabolic Testing equipment, Cardiopulmonary Testing systems

Step 1: Get to know the Company

Perhaps the first step in purchasing a Metabolic Measurement System should be to get to know the company that produces it. But what can you learn?

You ask how long has the company been in business. A small, young company may not survive, but the assumption that a large company guarantees long-term service support may be false, witness the decision of Quinton to discontinue it's metabolic cart.

And what happened to customers who bought Beckman, Alpha Technology, Cybermedic, etc., are those instruments still supported?

Bottom line: There are no guaranties.

Who is Vacu·Med

Vacumetrics Inc. was born in 1968, VacuMed is the medical division of Vacumetrics Inc. Over 30 years of pulmonary experience assures you solid expertise and future support of your purchases. This web site lists all of our exercise stress testing equipment and related accessories, call or e-mail us if you have any questions.

With the recent availability of lower priced gas analyzers, we can now offer complete systems starting at about $12,000.

But there are other reasons as well why we can offer the Mini-CPX at such an attractive price, we will tell you more in the "Competition" chapter.

People that have seen our Mini-CPX system ask us how we can sell it for such a low price. What they really mean is, how does such a low priced system compare to the traditional $20,000 (or much more) metabolic cart?

Without question, it is better!

That's a pretty bold statement, but we are backing it up with specifications that you will not find in the $20,000 system, including a written Performance Guaranty.

Guaranteed Performance: VO₂ and VCO₂ accuracy within 3%,
Ventilation measurement accuracy within 2%.
Guaranteed Up-time*: We guarantee that the VacuMed Mini-CPX system will be operational 97% of the time over a 5-year period following the date of purchase.
Guaranteed Low Maintenance Cost*: We guarantee that your total repair costs over a 5-year period will not exceed $ 995.00 if you purchase the 5-year service contract.
Guaranteed Free Expert Installation and Instructions: We will not charge you for installation, setup and instructions (US & Canada only).
Guaranteed Access to Experts: We guarantee that you will have access to top level management and design experts by phone, fax or e-mail.
Guaranteed Free* Software Upgrades for 5 years.
Guaranteed Money Back up to 90 days if the instrument does not perform as expected.

(*) Details of the Performance Guaranty are in Step 5 of this guide.We can offer this bold Performance Guaranty because the performance history of the Mini-CPX system has already proven reliability and accuracy.

VacuMed's Vista Systems were first introduced in 1984. Since then they have been improved by 17 years of refinements and customer suggestions. We were first to introduce software based on Microsoft Windows, our "TurboFit software. Now we are first to offer software that will run under Windows 2000 (NT), and we do confidently claim that our software is the most accurate on the market.

All of VacuMed's metabolic measurement systems utilize our proven TurboFitÃ” software. TurboFit takes full advantage of today's high resolution color graphics and is capable of multi-tasking by operating under Microsoft Windows 95/98/2000.

Here are some of the key features of our TurboFit software:

Breath-by-Breath or timed interval VO₂ computations
Accurate over the complete physiologic range from REE (BMR) to VO2max
"Live" on-screen ECG waveform display
Automatic Lactate (Anaerobic) Threshold determination
Context-sensitive Help Screens
Data saved in Microsoft "Access" data base for data export options
Full 12 lead ECG capability is available in cooperation with a well known ECG manufacturer, providing you a single source for cardio-pulmonary stress testing
Optional EtCO₂, SAO₂, NIBP and ECG modules

If you are planning to purchase a VO₂ measurement system, you should first get copy of our free TurboFit demo disk. The demo disk is almost identical to the working disk and allows you to experiment with, customize and print out data from sample files. TurboFit will also give you a standard against which to measure user friendliness.

If you are setting up a new lab, you should also read "Helpful Hints for Setting up an EXERCISE STRESS TEST LABORATORY", just click on "Dr. Andrew's Corner.

Vista/TurboFit is actually a family of instruments available in the following versions:

Vista Mini-CPX , a semi-portable system, see data sheet.

Vista MX, a traditional active mixing chamber system

Vista PC Interface is an option available if you already have
your own gas analyzers and other accessories, or, if you wish
to update older instruments from other manufacturers,
such as Ametek, Beckman carts, Jaeger or PK Morgan systems.

All Vista systems use a permanently calibrated, computer compensated turbine flow meter, which is one of very few flow measurement devices that are essentially free of dependence on physical properties of gases, resulting in reliable, accurate ventilation measurements, more about this in chapter (Step) 4.

Other products available from VacuMed include accessories for pulmonary medicine and exercise physiology. All products and prices are listed on our web site or ask for our printed catalog.

Leasing is available. We handle all the necessary paperwork. As a rough guide, you can figure your monthly payment to run approximately $22 per $1000 purchase on a 60 month lease. So the monthly payment on a $12,000 purchase will be approximately $260. We will be glad to provide a detailed leasing cost analysis on request.

New Program: Rent-to-Own

If you are among the many potential users of metabolic measurement systems that have limited capital budgets, VacuMed now offers a Rent-to-Own program. (US & Canada only). No long-term lease obligations, no service contracts, just a one-time payment of $4750.00** gets you into the VO₂ measurement business for 12 months. If you choose to renew the rental for two additional years, you own the Mini-CPX.

VacuMed has been in the exercise physiology and pulmonary measurement business since 1968, which means you can count on us to support you in the future. Remember, if our prices weren't lower, our quality better, and our service quicker, why would we be here?

For immediate additional information call, fax or e-mail us.
In the US and Canada you can call toll-free at 1-800-235-3333.

All prices and specifications subject to change without notice.

** First rental may require purchase of some non-returnable items, such as calibration gas.