Evaluation of short wave therapy equipment based on brazilian standards

Abstract

Short Wave Diathermy (SWD) equipment is used in physiotherapy and

Lack of Maintenance of Shortwave Diathermy Equipment Has a Negative Impact on Power Output

“…The results of the present study are in agreement with those reported by Gruber et al4 ) , who showed that 75% of the pieces of equipment they evaluated were neither grounded nor working well. On the other hand, Shields et al17 ) reported that all the pieces of equipment they evaluated were within the limits of normality in terms of electrical standards.…”

“…However, only capacitive plates or Schliephake electrodes are commercially available in Brazil. In the present study, plate-type electrode was the most widely used by the interviewees, a finding also reported by Gruber et al 4 ) , who reported that 65% of their subjects used this type of electrode, and by Shields et al 8 ) , who reported that 80% and 65% of their subjects used, respectively, inductive and capacitive electrodes. These findings are different from those of the study by Shah et al 9 ) , who found that 65% of their subjects used inductive electrodes and only 10% used capacitive ones, thus showing that the variability in the use of different types of electrodes is related to their availability in the market, as well as to their costs.…”

“…Therefore, one should ensure that physical therapy tables, chairs, and supports for the equipment are not made of metal. However, it was found that only 48% of the physical therapists used wooden tables during CSWD treatment, a percentage close to that reported by Gruber et al4 ) and Shah et al9 ) , who found that 40% and 33% of their subjects used metallic tables, respectively. It is of great importance to keep the CSWD equipment at a minimum distance of 3.0 m from other devices and metallic materials or to place them in another room whenever possible16, 17 ) .…”

“…In the present study, 23 pieces of CSWD equipment in use for up to 107 months from the purchase date were evaluated, and only 13% of the physical therapists sent their equipment for preventive maintenance every year. Better results were found by Gruber et al 4 ) , who found that of the 20 pieces of CSWD equipment evaluated, 10% were sent for maintenance every six months or when they presented some failure, and 60% of the therapists said they did it yearly. Among the others, 20% never sent their equipment for preventive maintenance, and 10% did not know when the equipment had last been sent for maintenance.…”

Avaliação de equipamentos eletromédicos que operam por meio de fenômenos ondulatórios segundo a série de normas técnicas NBR IEC 60601.

“…Em um estudo feito por Gruber & Gewehr foram ensaiados onze modelos de equipamentos de sete fabricantes diferentes e todos operavam em 27120 kHz. [55]…”