EBME Forums Forums Management Equipment Libraries Electrical Safety Testing of BEDS

See here.

..what the use of test instrument by the way?

Healthcare institutes must be single phase, dual phase was, and still is the lazy way to upgrade from 110V to 220V

Eh? What about 3-phase (for x-ray systems, etc.)?

I think what you meant to say there, Neil, was that (in some locations) both 110 and 220 VAC may be taken from a supply transformer in star configuration!

But (and perhaps more importantly in such cases) where is the earth connected?

I have always thought that "two-phase power supplies" was an "American idea". I have only ever encountered them in buildings built to "domestic standards" in places like Saudi Arabia (village clinics, and the like). Only once did I come across a piece of "medical equipment" that actually required a 220 VAC two-phase supply in a proper hospital, and that was an ancient baby milk-bottles sterilizer (I think it was) made in the USA.

Do you mean the 62353 Alternative Method?

For more, see this earlier thread.

You will need an Safety Tester that can accommodate this (has this "feature").

Going back with the initial queries. In our policy in Malaysia, when we performing PPM inclusive with EST for any medical equipment regardless class 1 or class 2, it shall be isolated from patient. This shall minimize any potential risk exposed to the patient which will lead into severe damage.

OK, that's the policy. But how do you implement the policy in cases where beds are hardly ever (if at all) vacated?

Are you following 62353 ... and especially, the Alternative Method?

We never experienced that.

Normally bed, the frequency for the PPM is once a year and bed hardly vacated is normally in ICU.

We still emphasize in 60601 and not yet 62353.

For ICU, ask the head nurse to inform BME when the room becomes vacant, death, theatre procedure or any other service outside of the ICU and PPM all the equipment for that room.

1) Patient goes to Theatre
2) Nurse informs BME
3) BME rushes to ICU
4) Bed fails EST (PPM)
5) Bed has a fault
6) Bed needs extra work
7) Bed needs parts
8) Patient returns
9) What happens next?