Medical Computer Excellence

5 Ways Medical Computers Excel over Consumer PCs

5 Ways Medical Computers Excel over Consumer PCs

 

There’s a good reason why the healthcare field is one of the most heavily regulated industries with the most oversight. When it comes to patient care, painstaking efforts are necessary to protect everyone at a medical facility including staff and visitors. Everything including medical equipment needs to meet strict criteria in order to be certified for hospital use from the spread of contagion and harmful pathogens. The following list elaborates on just a few of the features that really set a true medical computer apart from your standard consumer PC.

 

  1. Antimicrobial Coating

Antimicrobial protection on medical computer surfaces is achieved with additives that are baked right into the plastic of the enclosure. These additives have been proven to have long-lasting effectiveness in combating fungi, bacteria, molds and spreadable pathogens. Both the casing & screen of the Tangent’s medical computers have antimicrobial material which prevents germs from growing, lowering patient infection rates. Proper cleaning of the computer equipment helps prevent MRSA, CDIFF, and Hepatitis from growing and spreading. The antimicrobial coating also has the added benefit of minimizing odors, staining, and degradation of  the surfaces where it is applied.

     2. UL/IEC60601-1 Certification

Having a UL/IEC60601-1 Certification demonstrates that a medical computer has been rigorously tested and guaranteed to be protected from electrical frequency leakage, making it safe for use near patients and staff. The medical computer’s certification also indicates that it is shielded and will not interfere with other sensitive medical equipment in the vicinity.

     3. Smart Card Readers, RFID,  Barcode Scanners, Etc

Tangent’s medical computer line has a variety of options that provide many benefits to the clinical work space. An in-system smart card reader allows for secure login and user identification, as well as accept credit card payments. Bar code scanners are great for quickly scanning patient wristbands and medication for either checking in, checking out, or tracking inventory of hospital assets. RFID also provides a fast and easy way to track assets or locate people or equipment within a facility.  Having accessories like these built into a medical computer saves on time and cuts down on wires and attachments that can be lost or stolen.

    4. Hot Swap Batteries/Internal Batteries

Disaster recovery is a main staple of a medical facility’s preparedness package. When there’s a power outage, patient’s lives can be at risk. Hot swappable batteries in some of Tangent’s medical computers can provide up to 10.5 hours of runtime without any interruption. This can be a literal lifesaver during periods of severe power loss.

    5. Fanless Operation

Longevity, reliability, and strong performance are requisite of any medical computer. An excellent advance for computer technology was the introduction of the fanless computer. With no moving fan parts, the system has fewer components that can wear out and fail. In addition to that, a fanless system will not collect dust and contaminants inside of it or blow it around in the air. People with sensitive systems or allergies certainly appreciate that.  

Fanless Computer

No Dust Bunnies This Easter…

No Dust Bunnies This Easter…

 

Finding dust build up inside a fan-cooled computer is like finding traffic in LA. It’s always there no matter how much you try to avoid it. Thousands of hours of fan-driven air movement and electrostatic charges make the internals of a PC or laptop a prime dust magnet. From a functional perspective, collected dust, dirt, hair and debris sucked into the computer can cause overheating by insulating vital components and blocking vents. When intake vents get clogged up, the exhaust fans will pull air through every other hole in the case, eventually clogging them with dust and fuzz particles as well.

 

What does all this dust being circulated around mean for the world outside the computer? Anyone with allergies knows that it means an absolutely miserable day. In a work or hospital setting, the amount of lint and filth floating around from computer fans can be potentially harmful, especially to those experiencing compromised health situations. So how does one ensure better air quality and clean PC internals when considering computer systems for an office? An industrial or medical grade fanless computer from Tangent will absolutely hit that mark.

 

Most every computer that Tangent produces operates completely fanless and without any moving parts. Fanless cooling is achieved through conduction, or passive cooling, techniques along with processing components that give off less heat.  Modern CPUs can run with less power than before and at a cooler rate. Solid state hard drives have no moving parts and therefore are immensely cooler than standard disc hard drives. The LED backlit LCDs on the fanless computers also have low power consumption and heat output, and the cast aluminum or stainless steel chassis casings absorb any internal heat and dissipates it like a heat sink. Fanless computers save on power, reduce all computer noise, and do not circulate dust and contaminants.

Fanless Industrial Computer
Fanless F15 Industrial Computer

Tangent’s professional fanless computer lines, the medical grade T, C, and E series, or the industrial grade KW and S series are the culmination of decades of advances in technology to reduce power consumption, increase speed, maximize durability and reliability, and provide a safe, clean working environment for its users. So much effort has gone into packing Tangent’s fanless computers with tons of features and options while still ensuring that they won’t overheat or fail. Many consumer grade PCs and laptops are moving towards a fanless model, but unless high quality components and construction are employed, as with industrial grade computers, there’s no guarantee for performance or longevity.

 

The Difference Between a Panel PC and a Tablet

The Difference Between a Panel PC and a Tablet

 

An industrial grade touchscreen panel PC may have many of the same features as a tablet, but its purpose is to provide an incredibly durable, impenetrable, fast, and powerful computer system that will last for many years.  Tangent offers four lines of industrial panel PCs to meet business needs ranging from elegant office spaces to extremely harsh environments to the open air outdoors. How is this sort of longevity achieved? For one, industrial touchscreen panel PCs are constructed with materials that are much stronger and resistant to wear than a consumer grade computer. Second, Tangent’s panel PCs (for the most part) are completely fanless and have no moving internal parts that can wear out and fail. Tangent’s panel PCs also go through rigorous testing to ensure that the temperature and enclosure protection rating given to it is accurate. In the performance category, an industrial touchscreen panel PC is a full-fledged computer system with the same type of hardware capacity as many high end desktop solutions, far outweighing the capacity of any tablet.

 

The tastefully classic and clean looking  KW series of Tangent’s panel PC gives any space a professional look, yet this system is much more robust than appearances can tell. The chassis is cast aluminum and has a protection rating of IP65 against water or dust ingress into the internals. Because of this rating, the computer can be wiped down throughout the day if needed. The panel PC also has versatile VESA mounting options, so it can be placed nearly anywhere. It works well in a number of capacities like as an informational kiosk in high traffic areas or a front desk computer for answering phones using touchscreen interfaces.

Flat Panel PCs

The incredibly sturdy and resilient S series of industrial panel PCs are perfect for the most harsh of working conditions. They are well suited to food processing plants, grimey industrial factories, farms, heavy weather stations, and anywhere else where a standard consumer computer will not survive. The S series are rated at an IP69K level of protection, which guarantees the internals are safe from the use of high pressure, hot water jets on the enclosure, cleaning solutions, and any sort of contaminate intrusion.  These industrial touchscreen panel PCs are housed with corrosion resistance stainless steel, are shock and vibration resistant, and have sunlight readable screens with UV coating. Not only is the S series panel PC fanless, but like the other offerings from Tangent, it’s has best-in-class integrated media and graphics performance backed by Intel Core processors.

 

It doesn’t take much to see that an industrial panel PC is so much more than just a big tablet. The more you look, the more that will surprise you in such an unassuming package.

medical grade computer

3 Essential Features of Medical Computers

3 Essential Features of Medical Computers

 

“Medical grade computer” isn’t a label you can slap on anything off the shelf. Understandably, there are stringent regulations around what can be considered a safe computer component for use around patients in healthcare environments or in highly sanitary conditions. Medical computers are designed to be installed in a variety of areas in a hospital or care center like medical stations and carts, wall mounted arms, or even patient lobbies, and they often have features like barcode scanners, internal batteries, or card readers to further provide desirable clinical utility. The following are three major requirements to be considered a medical computer.

EN60601-certified

UL/IEC60601-1 Certification

This certification is granted when a medical electrical device undergoes and successfully passes testing for safety and performance compliance with CDC guidelines for environmental infection control, electric shock prevention, and isolation precautions. It is a guarantee of reliability and assurance that the medical computer won’t cause harm to clinical staff or patients. Tangent’s line of medical computers have all been thoroughly tested and certified.

 

IP Rating, International Protection Marking

The IP rating of a mechanical casing and/or electrical enclosure classifies and rates the degree of protection it provides against intrusion by any number of external forces. The ratings list specific foreign objects and water pressure forces that the enclosure of the device is effective against. Most of Tangent’s medical computers are sealed and protected with an IP65 rating. This indicates that the medical computer is dust tight and ingress of any foreign particle will not occur. The IP65 rating also means that the device can safely be sprayed down with water jets from a nozzle. Thus, the medical computer can be sanitized with cleansers and water and will not harbor any contaminants or dust, which is crucial for clinical settings.

antimicrobial

Antimicrobial Protection

Tangent’s medical grade computers are manufactured with antimicrobial agents embedded in the enclosure. The antimicrobial agent in the medical computer’s plastic is necessary to address patient and medical staff safety by preventing surface contamination and the spread of harmful pathogens, germs, or mold spores. Infection control initiatives are some of the top priorities in hospitals, making antimicrobial treatment incredibly important for computer equipment that is touched by many people and could transmit bacteria or other organisms to health compromised patients.