Rigel electrical safety analysers put to the test at Siemens
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Leading healthcare equipment manufacturer Siemens Healthcare has equipped its nationwide team of mobile service engineers with 100 new Rigel Medical 288 electrical safety analysers.
The move will significantly reduce the time it takes for engineers to carry out electrical safety checks on Siemens MR, CT, nuclear, PET, ultrasound and radiotherapy equipment at hospitals and other medical facilities in the UK.
The state-of-the-art hand held devices will replace larger testing units engineers have been using, which are both cumbersome and heavy to transport from site to site.
The light weight portability and versatility of the Rigel 288 will enable the team of engineers to move more swiftly, completing electrical safety testing in a more expedient and cost effective way.
The battery powered Rigel 288 ensures Siemens meets the recurrent and post repair test requirements of the new IEC 62353 standard for medical devices.
The tester features Bluetooth technology for the wireless connection of bar code scanners, label printers and other accessories. This will enable engineers to carry out cable-free data transfer and safety labelling, without the cumbersome plugging and unplugging of leads and cords.
As well as storing the results of electrical tests, the instrument also has the ability to record user defined inspections and measurements from specialist electro medical equipment such as SpO2, NIBP, ECG and other patient devices.
The Rigel 288 incorporates an easy-to-follow menu driven instructions for simple operation and test control of all IEC62353 required electrical safety tests in manual, semi automatic or fully automatic test modes.
Frimley-based Siemens Healthcare is one of the world?s largest suppliers to the healthcare industry, offering core competence and innovative strength in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies as well as in knowledge engineering, including information technology and system integration.
The company employs more than 49,000 people worldwide and operates in 130 countries. In the fiscal year 2007 (Sept. 30), it reported sales of ?9.85 billion with orders of ?10.27 billion and group profit of ?1.32 billion
Although the initial 100 units are being delivered, Rigel expects further orders to follow to equip fully Siemens?s 150 strong team of field service engineers.
Siemens?s Michael Bernard, who is helping to deliver the engineer training progamme for electrical safety testing utilising the Rigel equipment, said:
We are very happy with the 288. It can perform any test required on portable medical equipment to any standard currently in operation throughout the world.
It is the smallest and lightest unit on the market and very reasonably priced.
After training, it is easy to use (more so than other devices on the market) and has many features that would allow for future expansion.
Available as part of a special Rigel 288 test kit is the new battery operated Test ?n Tag Elite printer which provides an easy way to generate tamper proof barcode pass-fail labels or result print outs.
The Elite printer also has the additional ability to design and print customised logos or contact details on every label printed.
This not only gives a clear indication of the electrical safety of the medical equipment, but also a simple way of providing contact details in the event of unexpected service requirements. For service firms, each label offers a cost effective way of enhancing customer service and is unique to the Rigel 288. The Elite can also be used with thermal paper for on the spot printing of test results using the industry standard 50mm wide paper.
For traceability and safety audit purposes, wireless connection also means that data from the Rigel 288?s large internal memory can be transferred immediately and directly from the tester to PC-based record keeping systems at the touch of a button.
ENDS
Rigel Medical is based at Bracken Hill, South West Industrial Estate, Peterlee, County Durham, SR8 2SW
Tel. +44 (0) 191 587 8730 Fax. +44 (0) 191 586 0227
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www.rigelmedical.com
