What is a medical power supply?
It is an energy source that has to possess properties that need to meet the necessary standards for medical use in a hospital or residential home. The worldwide ES/IEC/EN 60601-1 3rd Ed. standard provides us with guidelines, which are more stringent compared to guidelines for commercial or industrial appliances. Higher safety standards and lower electromagnetic interference are required, providing EMC Compliance.
Medical power supply requirements
What to consider for complying with ES/IEC/EN 60601-1 3rd Ed.?
The 3rd edition of IEC 60601 focuses on the safety of operating personnel and patients. To assess medical electrical equipment, a new classification system (MOP — means of protection) has been introduced.
MOOP (Means of Operator Protection) and MOPP (Means of Patient Protection)
When electronic devices do not come into direct contact with the patient and are only handled by trained operators they are classified in category MOOP, which means they typically only need to meet 60950-1 and 62368-1 ITE standards for Laboratory Environment Compliance.
The product falls into category MOPP when there will be direct physical contact between the device and the patient and then must meet extremely stringent safety standards, especially in regards to insulation.
To protect patients against electric shock, such products must feature two separate insulation barriers. The closer the contact between the device and the patient, the lower the permissible leakage current. Application devices are therefore classified according to the type of contact to the patient.
