Now, I should start this with the admission that, as a manager, I don't do a lot of hands on biomed work these days but I have spent the last couple of days as the "site engineer" at a client hospital while the regular staff member has been elsewhere. During this time I have made an exciting medical break though. Yes folks, it's true, I have discovered a new medical condition which I shall call "Baxter thumb syndrome"

This dreadful condition is characterized by a small circular blister on the thumb of the dominant hand (right in my case)caused by the endless turning (twiddling if you prefer) of an Allen key while taking the back off a Baxter pump to change the batteries. You know, the art of holding it in place whilst driving it round in a vigorous circular motion with your thumb. I suspect that this condition may further decend into RSI of the ligaments on said digit and probable joint damage as well.

I think in light of this highly important new medical diagnosis, I can feel the Nobel prize for Medicine heading my way

One more day to go and then my engineer returns and I can go back to being a manager and risking RSI from computer use instead. Hey ho, there's no escape

Dave,
Know what you mean i have keyboard elbow these days rather than spanner rash.
Youve probably thought of this already.
Can you not get an allen key attachment for an electric screwdriver?
Or cut an allen key straight and stick it in a socket attachment for the screwdriver.
Be careful on the very last bit tightening up though so you dont strip the thread.

The worst injury I have had from an allen key was a bad back from repeatedly bending down to pick the dammned thing up, fiddly f£@%ers.

Yes, even I have moved on (some years ago now, in fact) to electric screwdrivers with 1/4in. hex bits! Perhaps they haven't made it out as far as Oz yet.

Thinking about it, for me the "magic moment" came when I was working on ultrasound units (typically many panels with lots of screws). And yes, you can strip threads if you're clumsy (careless?). But us techs are 'sposed to have a bit of skill and dexterity, you know.

(with tounge lodged firmly in cheek)
Dave, it must be such a novel experience for you to get your hands on the tools again....

Any way - why oh why did Baxter use a different size allen screw for the batteries than those of the case - errrr.

And, P1.7 Colleague does clear up any battery issues - since our pumps have been done - weve had no battery problems - yahoooooo.

It sure is Phil, don't get to do real work all that much these days.

First of my sites (and the biggest) due to switch to 1.7 mid June. Perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel after all.

A deliberate design decision, I would have thought. You know, to "encourage" techs to remove only the right screws!

They could have gone further (and why not?) by using "anti-tamper" screws on the case.