Weight Load Testing Methods for Surgical Operating Tables

T

theGrod

I am looking for weight load testing methods for surgical operating tables. One thing in particular I am looking for is a diagram that shows the out line of a patient on a table and the approximate weights of each section of the person, head, torso, arms, legs and where they are on the table to show how much weight each segment of the table is expected to safely handle. Do any of you have one of these? Thanks
 
S

SteveK

Re: Weight Load Testing

I am looking for weight load testing methods for surgical operating tables. One thing in particular I am looking for is a diagram that shows the out line of a patient on a table and the approximate weights of each section of the person, head, torso, arms, legs and where they are on the table to show how much weight each segment of the table is expected to safely handle. Do any of you have one of these? Thanks

I do not know if this of use (a) because it is a European Standard and (b) I do not know what is in the standard with respect to weight testing (if anything), but there is:

EN 60601-2-46:1998 Medical electrical equipment — Part 2-46: Particular requirements for the safety of operating tables IEC 60601-2-46:1998

Steve
 

Pads38

Moderator
Check clause 9.8.3 of 60601-1 ed. 3.

And in the rationale annex A you will find Fig A 19 which is a diagram showing exactly how to distribute the load. The 'standard' patient is 135kg, 40.7% load from the torso etc.
 
T

theGrod

I will look at that. I think I found what I was looking for in Section 10, Figure 2.
 
M

MIREGMGR

...in the rationale annex A you will find Fig A 19 which is a diagram showing exactly how to distribute the load. The 'standard' patient is 135kg, 40.7% load from the torso etc.

This.

We design at times for specified load ratings up to 550kg. In the absence of quantitative guidance, our approach to mass distribution for load ratings greater than 135kg is to proportionately distribute the excess mass among the A19-zones other than the head, hands and lower legs.

Our internal standard also quantifies the lateral dimensionality of the standard mass distribution. We regard that as important in some designs.

We also have internal standards for child/infant devices, and variants on A19 for persons of shorter stature.

Our view is that internal standards to extend A19 are obligatory per 9.8.3.1, unless your company does only plain-vanilla 135kg designs.
 
M

MIREGMGR

Re: Weight Load Testing

EN 60601-2-46:1998 Medical electrical equipment — Part 2-46: Particular requirements for the safety of operating tables IEC 60601-2-46:1998

We, and as far as I know all of our customers, regard 2-46 as obsolete for new designs.
 
T

theGrod

What applies to new designs? Not that what we have is new but It would be interesting to know.

Thanks
 
M

MIREGMGR

2-46 was (wildly) inconsistent with the base standard (second edition), and as far as I know was created because fixing the base standard was politically/systematically too difficult, but it was generally recognized that its structural requirements were useless.

2-46 unfortunately wasn't written well enough to be all that much better than the base standard, at least without lots of extension and justification.

The third edition is much improved all around regarding structural issues.

I'm not aware of an intent to issue an updated version of 2-46, given that the base standard does a decent job in the first place, particularly in regard to its direct support for user justification of local extension of its technical breadth.
 

Pads38

Moderator
There is a new version published by IEC:

IEC 60601-2-46:2010 specifies safety requirements for operating tables, whether or not having electrical parts, including transporters, used for the transportation of the table top to or from the base or pedestal of an operating table with detachable table top. This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 1998 and constitutes a technical revision. This edition of IEC 60601-2-46 was revised to align structurally with the 2005 edition of IEC 60601-1.

I don't think it has been 'harmonised' yet.

But I agree that the handling in 60601-1 Ed 3 is pretty good.

It would appear that different versions of the base standard may have different numbering. The test equipment that theGrod found in his section 10 is in my section 9! (figure 33 Human body test mass - used for dynamic loading test). Anyway - the whole section of "Protection against mechanical hazards of ME equipment and ME systems" provides useful info along with the corresponding part of Annex A.
 
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