Abstract
Problem statement: Medical electrical equipments at health care facilities presented malfunction and wrong medical information due to poor electric power quality and to inadequate electrical Installations. Some equipment such as X-ray, computerized axial tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are considered as polluting ones due to their high amount of harmonics and voltage transients produced on the electrical power supply when in operation, while other equipments, connected to the same power supply, are considered sensitive or victim ones, presenting failure or producing wrong. Approach: The effects on some sensitive medical electrical equipment were verified in a controlled environment at energy quality technological center of the technical school of the University of Sao Paulo. A heart monitor, pulmonary ventilator and pulse oxymeter equipment types were submitted to a controlled voltage supply with high harmonic content and voltage sags. The test methodology used simulated conditions based on Brazilian NBR standards, ANSI/IEEE Std. 519, IEC 60601 and IEC 61000-4-11 standards. Results: The results of the polluting equipment current consumption measurements as well as the three sensitive equipments tested were presented and discussed. The pulmonary ventilator presented problems that range from stoppage to expiratory valve blockage and alarm system failures. The pulse oxymeter presented display malfunctions and it was extremely sensitive to voltage sags. The heart monitor maintained steady operation in all test cases. Conclusion/Recommendations: In spite of several existing recommendations and standards for testing medical electrical equipments, there is a lack of standard related to test cases considering the effects of high harmonic and voltage sags. The quality of electrical installation in health care facilities needs to be improved to reduce risks to the patients and to provide better health treatment.
Highlights
Today advances in technology and development of medicine have been promoting great benefits to human health around the world
This study presents some test results obtained in a research laboratory on possible wrong medical diagnosis or risks to patient life based on electrical equipment fed in electrical power networks, which do not comply with the standards or are completely disturbed by other pieces of equipment typical of health-medical environments
Technological advance is implying a greater use of sensitive equipment in all segments of society, but detrimental regarding aspects related to quality of electrical power
Summary
Today advances in technology and development of medicine have been promoting great benefits to human health around the world. In Brazil, to guarantee the safety of patients and to have reliable results, a medical equipment to be commercialized need to be registered at sanitary agency of the ministry of health, after being attested that it complies with applicable or mandatory national and international technical standards. A very important issue not too much stressed is to consider the electric power quality and the electrical installation within the health medical environments. This study presents some test results obtained in a research laboratory on possible wrong medical diagnosis or risks to patient life based on electrical equipment fed in electrical power networks, which do not comply with the standards or are completely disturbed by other pieces of equipment typical of health-medical environments
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