Footswitch meets demanding needs of medical system
A
Schmersal UK product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Nov 13, 2000
To provide the footswitch controls for an Endourology minimal access system, Gyrus turned to man-machine safety specialist Schmersal UK with a detailed specification
Gyrus Medical is at the leading edge of the surgical treatment of diseases using minimal access techniques.
The group's PlasmaKinetic Technology combines the power and speed of high-frequency RF energy with precision, safety and control - enabling surgeons to simultaneously remove soft tissue and control bleeding; precisely cut and contour soft tissue; and remodel stretched collagen fibres.
To provide the footswitch controls for an Endourology minimal access system Gyrus turned to man-machine safety specialist Schmersal UK, providing their designers with a detailed specification that included a number of key operational requirements.
The most important of these were that the footswitch would not move or slide across the floor due to the amount of fluid spilt during endourology procedures.
And that while operating, the surgeon must be able to clearly determine which pedal was about to be depressed.
The control requirements had to be addressed whilst also meeting the specific needs of the surgical environment and providing full medical compliance documentation to: Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC (CE Marked); IEC 60 601 - Category AP approval condition; IEC 60 529 - IP X8; and the GM mark of conformity.
To accommodate the use of special footwear worn by surgeons, the die-cast aluminium console of the footswitch was designed with three obvious 'landmarks' - two clearly defined pedals and a central, 'safe' footrest between that enables the operator to identify the correct pedal by touch.
The pedals are also colour-coded - the right being blue (for desiccation) and the left yellow (for vaporisation).
A 3m long flexible electrical cable exits via a sealed connector gland, mounted centrally at the back of the footswitch housing.
Product packaging was also considered in the design brief and Schmersal included drop tests to ensure that the 2.5 kilo foot switch was securely packed for transit and storage.
A spokesman for Gyrus Medical says they are very pleased with the footswitch for the Endourology system, adding that a company review group subsequently concluded that the Schmersal footswitch also "contributed additional modes of control beyond those of previous models.".
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