A new device able to provide an isolated electrical supply in hospital rooms, without the need for central isolated power supply/uninterruptible power supply (IPS/UPS) units, has been invented by the principal physicist at Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.
NHS Innovations South East (NISE) provided proof of concept funding for the new Isolated Mains Power Socket (IPMS), which was developed by Dr Fares Mayia, helped to protect the intellectual property rights, and negotiated with a commercial partner, Starkstrom, which is responsible for market sales. Meeting MHRA MEIGaN (Medical Electrical Installation Guidance) and HTM 6-01 electrical safety standards, the IMPS reportedly “overcomes the shortcomings” of existing IPS/ UPS central units, among which, the inventor claims, are: “a high cost of compliance” with existing standards, lengthy downtime during upgrade, “inadequate patient and staff safety” (as related to the very latest, “emerging” MEIGaN guidelines), insufficient capacity handling, and the large footprint of floor-standing units. Converting a single room should take just a single day, compared with a “typical” seven using the present IPS/UPS approach, while the system also enables all wall sockets to have an isolated supply. In contrast, with the existing central unit approach “just a few” have one, a potential safety risk, the project partners claim, as some staff plug medical equipment into non-isolated wall sockets in error. While “conventional” IPS central units will handle a load of up to 8kVA (across a typical 12-socket room), the IMPS reportedly offers a 50% capacity improvement, meaning staff will now be able to plug in all types of medical and non-medical equipment to an isolated supply. The compact, wall-mounted device measures just 17 x 16 x 8 cms.
