Study on leakage current in a hemodialysis center

Abstract

In order to check the effect of the leakage current generated by a computer assisted patient monitoring system and the fluctuation of leakage current from the medical equipment around the system and while the equipment itself is in operation simultaneously, we analyzed the leakage current from grounding, enclosures of the hemodialysis console and the patient leakage current.
The leakage current was also analyzed when the monitoring system and the other equipment were in operation simultaneously.
1. Regarding the patient monitor with a built-in micro-computer, 2 out of 8 had a generated leakage current exceeding the JIS standard. 2. We observed a tendency for the leakage current to increase under the following conditions. 1) when grounding of equipment was incomplete. 2) when patient monitors were operated in proximity to assisting computers.
As a countermeasure, we made a checklist on leakage current from different types of equipment and on potential differences among the pieces of equipment used in a hemodialysis center.
The result of this study indicate that a checklist of this kind is useful for monitoring and properly regulating leakage current from the equipment in a hemodialysis center.