The Importance of the Electrical Safety Equipment in Hospitals
Electrical safety testing is imperative and has fortunately developed and evolved tremendously to save countless lives over the decades.
Mon Aug 19 2019
In 1971, Ralph Nader wrote, “Statistics have hidden the fact that a shock-hazard epidemic of critical proportions exists in our hospitals” (1971, p. 176). He cited some alarming examples, including “…a patient connected to an external heart pacemaker…was found dead, part of his body touching the metal frame of his electrically operated hospital bed” (1971, p. 98). In fact, at that time, medical engineers such as Professor Hans von der Mosel, co-chairman of the Subcommittee on Electrical Safety of AAMI (Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation), believed that the number of hospital fatalities resulting from electric shock “might be 10 times as high as the conservative estimate of 1,200” (1971, p. 98).
Given the potentially lethal consequences of electric shock, not to mention the incomprehensible irony of such accidents occurring in the very institutions anticipated to provide positive patient outcomes, a variety of standards have been developed to ensure patient safety. The FDA started regulating medical devices in 1976. In 1985, the National Fire Protection Agency released its first edition of NFPA 99, the well-known fundamental guide within the healthcare technology management (HTM) profession. AAMI also developed testing and manufacturing standards.
Internationally, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), which are based in Europe, provide worldwide standards in partnership with the World Trade Organization. IEC 60601 is a primary standard for medical devices design and development, addressing general requirements to prevent or reduce the hazards of electrical shock. However, concerning the medical equipment after it enters service, most relevant to the work of clinical engineers and biomedical equipment technicians is IEC 62353 which addresses recurring tests and testing after medical equipment repairs.
Given the mind-boggling array and volume of electronic equipment in hospitals, testing and validation of medical electronic (ME) equipment is essential to ensure the safety of operators, including nurses and other healthcare practitioners, as well as patients. The frequency and quantity of electrical safety testing demanded of clinical and biomedical engineering departments thus presents a considerable challenge, requiring specialized test equipment. The equipment employed for this task include electrical safety analyzers, electrical safety meters, digital volt meters, ohm meters, and more.
An ideal electrical safety analyzerhas recently been developed that is not only highly portable but also automated and durable.Within the current climate of cost cutting that is too common among hospitals today, automation for speed to reduce demands on labor and durability to reduce burdens on acquisition budgets in the future are the answer.
From Pronk Technologies, the Safe-T Sim™ Electrical Safety Analyzer is the world’s smallest and performs with the touch of one button. It includes user-defined tests with programmable Pass / Fail limits. When combined with Bluetooth connection and the Safe-T Sim App, one can access real-time electronic data capture and remote control. Electronic test records may be copied, printed or emailed directly from an Apple device. 1000 test Records may also be stored in the Safe-T Sim App.
The unit glows brightly to indicate a pass (green) or fail (red) result for convenience and speed. ECG and respiration sequences (Adult, Pediatric and Neo) start automatically after safety tests are completed. It is also the most durable electrical safety analyzer on the market with a design that passes a 50-time drop test from .91 m (3 ft). Moreover, the unit disables power circuits if it self-detects a drop or fall and alerts the operator of an overcurrent condition, preventing damage to the unit.
Electrical safety testing is imperative and has fortunately developed and evolved tremendously to save countless lives over the decades. A device that facilitates testing procedures by making them many times faster and easier through automation is long overdue. Hospitals, in their ultimate goal of saving lives, are served tremendously by the time saved and the reduction in labor hours required of biomedical and clinical engineering departments due to automation and other advances in technology as represented by the Safe-T Sim Electrical Safety Analyzer.