AMANDA JEFFS – DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, C-INTECH ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Avoidinginterferenceby electromagnetic fields
In the quest to provide optimal care in an accurate and timely manner, engineers and healthcare professionals design hospitals to be efficient, effective and reliable. However, with increasing digitalisation, the efficiency gained through these advancements could be critically jeopardised by interference caused by the presence of electromagnetic fields.
In recent years, information technology has significantly contributed to the efficient running of medical facilities; from quick medical results to accurate record keeping and enhanced communication among medical professionals, information technology has continuously benefitted the medical community. However, the efficiency gained through these advancements could be critically jeopardised by interference caused by the presence of internally as well as externally generated electromagnetic fields. Imagine a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine producing distorted images, the breathing rate of a ventilator suddenly changing, a robot delivery medicine abruptly stopping or precious patient data being lost; these are just a few of the frightening scenarios that could occur due to intrusive magnetic fields in a hospital environment. Electronic energy is not only an
integral part of everyday life, but in large medical facilities electricity is essential for the operation of highly advanced equipment and keeps people alive. As a result, main electrical rooms, electrical closets and feeders are omnipresent on virtually every floor in any hospital or medical facility. However, wherever there is electricity flowing, there is also a magnetic field alongside it. Power frequency magnetic fields easily pass through all building materials, diminishing in strength only with distance. Not only do they exist within buildings, they also exist outdoors. Transmission lines, with their associated magnetic fields, run alongside streets and sometimes directly through large developments.
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Adverse effects The adverse effect of spurious magnetic fields on electronic equipment can be as simple as loss of data or as severe as the complete destruction of hardware. The
Amanda Jeffs
Amanda Jeffs has been employed at C-Intech for almost five years, and is current director of operations.
On completion of her political science and economics degree at Dalhousie University, Amanda began the comprehensive three year inhouse electromagnetic field mitigation training
programme led by C-Intech president and senior electrical engineer, Jan Morava, and C- Intech’s lead project engineer Brian Krol.
induced currents burn the components and induced voltages break down insulation. Loss of data can be temporary, however its effects have the potential to be catastrophic in terms of the optimal running of healthcare facilities. A hardware failure usually requires attention from a manufacturer’s representative. Such intervention cannot be expected to be immediate and as a result, the downtime of precious equipment and patient care systems usually ensues. Published in 2007, the generic output specification (GOS) documents used for newly constructed hospitals stipulate AC magnetic field limits for various occupancy levels occurring in medical facilities. According to the GOS specifications, for any general public occupancy area or an area containing
IFHE DIGEST 2018
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