// MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
New products
In the field of medical equipment, there are some particularly good reasons for using wireless controls such as footswitches. Hygiene requirements are very strict, and cables and connectors are difficult to clean. In addition, the steadily growing number of diagnostic, treatment and surgical devices used in consultation rooms and operating theatres has resulted in a cable clutter and positioning which are detrimental to comfort. More dangerously, the cables can be a tripping hazard. However, the use of wireless technologies is a challenge, especially in hospitals, where their uninterrupted, completely reliable and accurate functioning must be guaranteed.
A Clean Solution
Highest hygiene standards are required in operating theatres, as well as in medical practices: all devices and all surfaces have to be able to be cleaned easily, withstand treatment with highly effective cleansing agents and may not be what we call »dirt nests«, in which impurities can be deposited.
These requirements also apply to the foot-operated controls often used in ORs (but also, for example, in consulting rooms). The doctor and his assistants literally have their hands full when taking care of patients. It is therefore their feet which take over the work of operating patient beds, dental drills, X-ray devices, phacoemulsification devices or equipment for laser surgery
Footswitch with USB interface
Footswitches for medical equipment are being assigned increasingly complex tasks. At the same time, the manufacturers of medical devices are calling for simple and standardised interfaces to aid communication between external operating systems and their equipment.
For this (wide) range of applications, steute has developed a USB interface able to transmit footswitch signals to conventional PCs. Up to eight digital and three analogue inputs are possible.
