Operating under high voltage?
22. Luglio 2020
The insidious blow normally comes when you least expect it and in a seemingly completely safe environment: you walk across the room, try to open the door and – BANG. Static charge caused by the friction between the soles of your shoes and the floor covering is channelled through the metal door handle. Usually, this has no major consequences; at worst, a few coffee stains. But what could that look like in an operating theatre? Just how to avoid such surges is explained on the CONICA homepage.
Operating under high voltage? Dissipative flooring in the operating theatre
Almost everyone has experienced it – an electric shock of several thousand volts. All you have to do is walk across a carpet or other plastic covering and then touch a door handle. Depending on the shoe sole material and the humidity in the surrounding environment, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) can occur, leading to a small electric shock. Its energy is far too low to endanger human life. Nevertheless, it can be extremely dangerous, for example, in a semiconductor production environment, in potentially explosive areas and, of course, in the operating room – a nightmare situation in which a surgeon holding a scalpel could involuntarily flinch. CONICA offers products like CONIFLOOR IPS AS for just such environments. The dissipative polyurethane flow coating is ideal for medium-duty mechanical loads in the operating theatre. This type of floor covering immediately dissipates electrostatic charges before higher voltages can arise. This reliably protects both staff and patients.
