Midmark 8019 Monitor Setup and Accessories Guide for Veterinary Clinics

The Monitor Most Vet Anesthesia Stations Are Built Around

The Midmark multiparameter monitor, the 8019 series, is one of the more common anesthesia monitors in general veterinary practice. If your surgery suite has a touchscreen vitals monitor on a rolling stand, there is a decent chance it is one of these. This guide is about setting it up well and outfitting it sensibly. It is not a how-to on interpreting what the numbers mean clinically. That is your team’s job and your protocols’ job.

What It Actually Measures

Out of the box, the Midmark monitor tracks ECG and heart rate, SpO2, non-invasive blood pressure, temperature, and respiration, on a 12.1 inch resistive touchscreen (Midmark Multiparameter Monitor, manufacturer specifications). Respiration can be derived indirectly through impedance or measured directly through capnography if you add a CO2 sensor. ECG comes as a 3-lead standard with an optional 5-lead, and there are options on top of that for invasive blood pressure and anesthetic gas monitoring.

The configurability is the point. Two clinics can own the “same” monitor and have very different capabilities depending on which modules they specced.

Choosing a CO2 Sensor

If you want end-tidal CO2, the Midmark supports four capnography configurations: “Respironics CAPNOSTAT 5 Mainstream,” “Respironics LoFlo Sidestream,” “Masimo Mainstream,” and “Masimo Sidestream” (Midmark Multiparameter Monitor, manufacturer specifications). The practical split is mainstream versus sidestream.

Mainstream sensors sit inline on the breathing circuit, right at the airway adapter, and read the gas as it passes. Sidestream sensors draw a small sample of gas down a thin sampling line to a sensor cell in or near the module. Each approach has tradeoffs in weight at the airway, sampling lines, and water handling, and the right pick depends on your patient mix and how your team likes to work. For the clinical side of why capnography earns its place on the monitor, see our veterinary capnography and ETCO2 monitoring guide.

One handy detail: the LoFlo sidestream module and the CAPNOSTAT 5 use a common connector, so they can be exchanged on the same host monitor (MedWrench equipment listing, Philips Respironics LoFlo). That flexibility is nice, but it also means the module gets unplugged, moved, and replugged a lot, which leads directly to the next section.

The Loose Module Problem

Here is the thing nobody specs for: where does the CO2 sensor go when it is not in your hand. The LoFlo was designed as a shared OEM component, easy to move between monitors, and it ships with no Midmark-specific mounting bracket. So in most clinics it ends up sitting loose on top of the monitor, hanging off its cable, or taped to the housing.

That is not just untidy. Health Canada and the manufacturer issued an alert in February 2019 noting that sensor cables “that may have been repeatedly twisted, coiled or bent could cause the sensors to lose functionality and become inoperable” (Health Canada recall, CAPNOSTAT 5 and Respironics LoFlo, 2019). A module swinging from its cable through every case is exactly the repeated stress that warning describes. A dropped module is worse, since these contain optical components.

Securing It Without Tape

The fix is mechanical and cheap. The Midmark monitor has existing screw points on its rear panel, the same ones Midmark’s own accessories use. A CO2 sensor mount bolts to four of those points and gives the module a fixed cradle with a routed path for the cable and sampling line. No drilling, no adhesive, no modification to the monitor. The sensor stays where you put it, the cable stops getting yanked, and the connector is not under constant strain.

It is built for the Midmark 8019 series in both the 8 inch and 12 inch sizes, and it holds the Philips Respironics LoFlo sidestream module as well as the CAPNOSTAT 5 mainstream sensor, since those share the same connector. If your monitoring cart also carries portable ultrasound, the same organizing logic applies, and the FAST scan pocket extension handles that station.

Setup Notes Worth Following

A few habits keep one of these monitors reliable:

• Mount the monitor at a height where the touchscreen is actually reachable mid-case, not craned over.
• Give the CO2 sensor a home before you need it, so it is not getting set down on a wet table or dropped in a drawer.
• Replace sidestream sampling lines and water traps on the manufacturer’s schedule. A tired sampling line is a common source of bad readings.
• Keep the cables routed and unkinked, both for the recall reason above and because a clean cable run is faster to troubleshoot when something does go wrong.

None of this is exotic. It is the difference between a monitoring station that works the same way every day and one that everybody quietly distrusts.

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This article is for informational purposes only. VetBog products are accessories, not FDA-cleared medical devices, and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Midmark, Philips, or Respironics. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use and your facility’s clinical protocols. “Midmark,” “LoFlo,” and “CAPNOSTAT” are trademarks of their respective owners, used here for equipment identification under nominative fair use.

Sources

• Midmark Multiparameter Monitor, manufacturer product specifications (screen size, monitored parameters, and the four CO2 sensor configurations). Midmark Animal Health
• Health Canada recall alert for the CAPNOSTAT 5 mainstream and Respironics LoFlo sidestream CO2 sensors, February 28, 2019 (cable twisting, coiling, or bending can cause loss of function). Government of Canada recalls database
• Philips Respironics LoFlo sidestream CO2 sensor, common connector for exchange between monitoring modes. MedWrench equipment listing

Frequently Asked Questions

What parameters does the Midmark 8019 monitor measure?

ECG and heart rate, SpO2, non-invasive blood pressure, temperature, and respiration, with optional capnography, invasive blood pressure, and anesthetic gas monitoring depending on how the unit was configured.

What is the difference between the LoFlo sidestream and CAPNOSTAT 5 mainstream sensors?

Mainstream sensors read CO2 inline at the airway adapter. Sidestream sensors draw a gas sample down a thin line to a sensor cell. The two use a common connector on the Midmark, so a clinic can switch between them on the same monitor.

Why does my LoFlo sensor keep failing?

One known cause is cable stress. Health Canada and the manufacturer warned in 2019 that cables repeatedly twisted, coiled, or bent can cause these sensors to lose functionality. A module that swings from its cable all day is a candidate. Securing it in a fixed mount reduces that strain.

How do I mount a CO2 sensor on a Midmark monitor without drilling?

The monitor already has screw points on its rear panel. A CO2 sensor mount bolts to four of them, so no drilling or adhesive is needed, and the module sits in a fixed cradle with routed cabling.