COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
its Guide for Safe and Secure Use of Radio Waves in Medical Institutions, which was published in 2016.2
We are also planning
to develop new guidelines for the proper installation and operation of wireless LANs. We hope that the establishment of these guidelines will lead to the sharing of information among those involved in building hospitals, hospital personnel, medical equipment manufacturers and distributors, and other stakeholders, and to the development of a safe and efficient wireless communication environment in medical facilities, thereby improving patient safety and labour efficiency in hospitals.
Above: A central monitor. Above right: A whip antenna. Right: A leaky coaxial cable (LCX), used as an antenna.
telemetry system, and then to provide the key information on the radio wave environment to the relevant hospital personnel.
Use of a spectrum analyser During this work, a spectrum analyser and an antenna are used as the measurement devices. The procedure is as follows: set up the antenna at the measurement point, and measure the intensity of the electric field using the maximum value hold mode of the spectrum analyser, with the polarisation of the antenna horizontal and vertical. After the antenna has been installed, the purpose of the further testing is to confirm that the signal can be received with sufficient intensity when the transmitter is moved within the expected movement range of the patient. The guidelines set out the specifications of the survey method to be used prior to the start of service. The radio wave survey uses a handheld transmitter that will be affixed to the patient, and a spectrum analyser, as the measurement tools. The transmitter is moved sequentially to the transmission points designated to cover the expected travel range of the patient. At the ‘central monitor’ at the staff station, the signal intensity and C/N (carrier to noise) ratio of the portable transmitter at each transmission point are measured, by connecting a spectrum analyser to the coaxial cable from the antenna using a signal splitter.
Changes over time It is known that the radio environment received by a central monitor changes during long-term operation. Factors that cause these changes include wireless communication devices brought in by patients and visitors; newly introduced medical equipment; components such as antennae, amplifiers, and distributors, and deterioration in the condition of the coaxial cables connected to the central monitor. There could also be deterioration of the
32 Health Estate Journal November 2022
entire system over time. The Japanese guidelines thus also stipulate the method for evaluating the reception status after the service has been put into operation. The process employed is basically the same as that used before the medical activities in the hospital commence, but it is described in the guidelines with special consideration to comparison points.
Conclusion In conjunction with the publication of these guidelines, the EMCC is now revising
References 1 Electromagnetic Compatibility Conference Japan. Results of the FY2019 Survey on the Promotion of Appropriate Radio Wave use in Japanese Medical Institutions, etc. (Hospitals), 2020.
2 Electromagnetic Compatibility Conference Japan. A Guide for Safe and Secure Use of Radio Waves in Medical Institutions, 2016.
n This article, titled ‘Guidelines for medical telemetry systems’, was originally published in the IFHE Digest 2022. HEJ thanks the IFHE, the author, and the Digest’s editor, for allowing its reproduction here in slightly edited form.
Tetsuo Endo
Tetsuo Endo is a manager at the Taisei Advanced Centre of Technology of Taisei Corporation in Japan. He chairs the Electromagnetic Environment Steering Committee of the Architectural Institute of Japan, and the sub-committee on investigation of guidelines and descriptions for medical institutions with building plans considering the use of radio wave equipment.
Takashi Kano
Takashi Kano is project professor at Jikei University of Health Care Sciences, and Professor Emeritus of Saitama Medical University in Japan. He chairs the Committee for Radio Use Promotion in Medical Institutions of the Electromagnetic Compatibility Conference (EMCC), supported by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC). Guidelines for medical telemetry system use in Japanese hospitals are based on the results of this committee’s activity.
Eisuke Hanada
Eisuke Hanada is a Professor at the Saga University Faculty of Science and Engineering in Japan. He previously worked at the Nagasaki University Information Science Center, at the Division of Medical Informatics, Kyushu University Hospital, and at the Division of Medical Informatics at Shimane University Hospital, as vice-director. He chairs the specialised research group on electromagnetic environments in clinical/welfare settings of the Japanese Society for Medical and Biological Engineering, and is a board member of the Healthcare Engineering Association of Japan.
©Manabu Kawabe, Saitama Medical University
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