EBME Forums Forums Management Medical Equipment Management Medical Equipment Pre-Installation Requirements

As part of medical equipment planning for new hospitals my job is to provide typical electrical loads and other mechanical details like typical dimensions, plumbing, heat dissipation details without refering to any specific make or model. I was wondering if anyone on the forum has any idea where I can get hold of this generic / typical data. This data is needed by the contractor in order to price the pre-requisites / pre-installation requirements for the medical equipment to be finally ordered for the facility. At the moment I am refering to historical data that I have and looking at manufacturer catalogs on a case to case basis. I would welcome any new leads from the members.

As part of medical equipment planning for new hospitals my job is to provide typical electrical loads and other mechanical details like typical dimensions, plumbing, heat dissipation details without refering to any specific make or model. I was wondering if anyone on the forum has any idea where I can get hold of this generic / typical data. This data is needed by the contractor in order to price the pre-requisites / pre-installation requirements for the medical equipment to be finally ordered for the facility. At the moment I am refering to historical data that I have and looking at manufacturer catalogs on a case to case basis. I would welcome any new leads from the members.

You probably need to subscribe to ECRI.

I have a subscription to ECRI. No help there. Its provides a specs comparision and at best mentions the line voltage.

You may wish to consider speaking to a consultant, then, falconeye. You could try John Parker, MJ Medical, or (dare I say it) an independent such as myself! Either way, please tell them that Geoff sent you!

Thanks Geoff for the leads and have checked out their websites, including yours, which by the way, was quite captivating. I am slightly hesitant here, to go further and the reason being that the information that I am seeking may well be the "bread and butter" for these companies and hence they may not wish to part with it gratis It would then seem to me at first attempt, that the info is not readily available in a compiled form and individuals / companies involved in medical equipment planning have built up this data over a period of time to suit their professional and commercial requirements.

Not only the "bread and butter", but the "cups of tea" as well, I would have thought! The generic equipment information you seek is available on databases, falconeye. I have seen it (them) and even worked on them myself. But you're right in assuming that such gems are not simply given away. They are the result of many, many, hours of labour and years upon years of experience, collecting data and all the rest. There's no reason why you could not do all this yourself, of course. As you first indicated, it's basically a question of research. But that's what consultants are for. You pay them to do things you don't have the time to do for yourself! Do I assume, by the way, that your time frame is more or less immediate (ie, the usual situation)?

Its back to the drawing board, I guess. lol. As they say, no short cut to hard work. In any case I do believe in verifying the data I access and I guess its worth the while to research and plod along and filling in the missing details myself. I appreciate your interst though. And yes, the time frame is like "yesterday"..lol...as is the case.

If you have anything specific you need help with, falconeye, email me and I'll see what I can do (if time allows). I have been known to do a bit of pro bono work, after all. It helps me to "keep my hand in", as it were ... but it is also good for the soul!

Thanks for the help Geoff. I have a basic and a general question at the moment. I come across power requirements stated as VA, Amp., or Watts on the specs sheets. How can I standardized them on, say a Watts scale, considering the line voltage in UAE is 230v (+/- 5%) AC 50Hz 1 Phase. How about equipment running on DC through a line voltage adapter? Sorry, this appears to be a basic elementary stuff, but slightly lost here. lol.

For the purposes of your database, falconeye (and as long as you don't start introducing decimal points), you can equate VA and Watts. If you are given Amps, just multiply by your 230 Volts to give Watts (...this is basic Ohm's Law, Mate)! The power rating (Watts) will be given in the small print on the back of all "Power Bricks" somewhere (if not, measure the current drawn on a similar one, or just estimate)!

Assuming that you're seeking generic information for equipment planning purposes (ie, room electrical loadings), don't forget that similar equipment will have similar ratings (ie, from this or that manufacturer - they are all designing to a similar spec after all). Don't forget also that Wattage figures are also where you start for your Heat Loadings!