Electrical safety in surgery is an aspect that must be taken very seriously. Precautions, using a well-designed electrical system, allow to face the potential complications related to electricity. That’s why aspects such as the continuous flow of energy are vital to properly maintain the power flow network and protect the patient, medical staff, equipment and facilities.
It must be taken into consideration that each one of the equipment destined to keep the electrical safety, must be exclusively destined to provide the power supply of the equipment in the surgery area.
This equipment has to meet international technical standards, since this is the only way to guarantee the health of all the people involved in the surgical rooms.
At ETKHO we are specialists in products, equipment and special services to guarantee electrical safety in the surgery.
We also offer electrical safety advice specialized in hospitals, medical units, operation room areas and everything related to medical services.
Our mission is to be able to offer the ideal conditions so that the medical unit can work without risks for patients, doctors and equipment. This way you will have the most convenient security measures in your electrical installations.
Risk factors in a surgery room
The first thing to consider is that surgery room is considered a wet area, it is an electrical area where a series of risk factors are combined and must be considered when implementing electrical safety.
Below are the risk factors that must be addressed:
Both the medical staff and the patients in the surgery are at risk due to full exposure to the electrodes of the electromedical equipment.
They have a low intensity power that can cause significant damage to people.
Flammable gases and oxygen in the surgical area means that even the slightest spark can create a fire hazard.
It is an almost imperceptible factor, however, it is latent and must be dealt with to avoid accidents that could claim the lives of patients and doctors.
Before continuing, we present the following infographic in which you can observe an electrical system design in a surgery that meets the minimum standards for electrical safety.
Solutions to such factors are required
Due to such conditions, it is impossible to create leakage currents by using highly conductive methods.
But a solution is necessary, because the connection of equipment and people directly in the surgical room with saline solutions on the floor requires electrical safety measures to be applied.
One of these measurements is to make the current return from the conventional outlets be made through a phase conductor and not through the neutral since this one in some remote point of the system is equally connected to the ground.
Why a phase conductor?
The reason why, as experts, we recommend a phase conductor is because when both the output and the return are phase conductors, a 120 V operating potential is obtained.
This means that the current will always flow there, and people will be safe, even when they accidentally make direct contact with the conductors.
The continuous flow of electrical service is indispensable, this guarantees maximum electrical safety in the operating theatre.
That is why we recommend placing grounded systems, and it is considered fundamental for the protection of the patient in the operating theatre area. It also guarantees the protection of the equipment, all metal parts and the current outlets for medical use.
The system described above also minimizes ground failures, preventing ignition in the surgical area.
Isolated system importance
When using an isolated system like the one referred to above, the chances of an electrical shock occurring in the operating theatre area are reduced.
This prevents accidental grounding of conductors that may be active and cause current output. This ensures that the risk of suffering a discharge is reduced.
Basic elements to be taken into account in the optimization of electrical safety in surgery
There are equipment and products that will help you keep the operating theatre safer. These must be the components of a well-crafted electrical system that guarantees protection.
Among them you should consider:
- Ground connections
- Batteries and isolation transformers
- Hospital earth panels and electrical outlets
- For surgical lamps, an emergency supply unit is required
- IT power systems, to detect electrical grounding failures and locate them easily and quickly
- Isolation monitor, for continuous monitoring of the isolation resistance of IT medical systems
- Uninterruptible power supply systems, allowing emergency power supply of specific charges
We recommend you that in order to optimize the electrical system in the operating theatre, detect failures, potential risks, and therefore fix them, rely on our specialized advice.
Our experience in the hospital environment and electrical safety will guarantee you better conditions.
Contact us for advice on electrical safety.