Safety Requirements Compliance and Considerations
2 Installation and Patient Safety
25
Protective Earthing of the System
To protect the patient and hospital personnel, the cabinet of the installed equipment has to be
grounded. The equipment is supplied with a detachable 3-wire cable which grounds the instrument to
the power line ground (protective earth) when plugged into an appropriate 3-wire receptacle. If a 3-
wire receptacle is not available, consult the hospital electrician.
WARNING
Do not use a 3-wire to 2-wire adapter.
Equipotential Grounding
Protection class 1 instruments are already included in the protective grounding (protective earth)
system of the room by way of grounding contacts in the power plug. For internal examinations on the
heart or the brain, Computer Module and Display Module of the System and the gas analyzer must
have separate connections to the equipotential grounding system.
One end of the equipotential grounding cable (potential equalization conductor) is connected to the
equipotential grounding terminal on the instrument’s rear panel and the other end to one point of the
equipotential grounding system. The equipotential grounding system assures that potential differences
between conductive parts are limited according to requirements of applicable standards. This safety
measure prevents that currents flowing through the heart of a patient caused by potential differences
stimulate arrhythmias.
Examinations in or on the heart (or brain) should only be carried out in rooms designed for medical
use incorporating an equipotential grounding system.
Combining Equipment
If it is not evident from the instrument specifications whether a particular instrument combination is
hazardous or not, for example, due to summation of leakage currents, the user should consult the
manufacturers concerned or an expert in the field, to ensure that the necessary safety of all instruments
concerned will not be impaired by the proposed combination.
Connecting Non-Medical Devices
Refer to the
Site Preparation
chapter in the respective IntelliVue Patient Monitor Service Guide for
details.
