tiv b Electrical Safety

es
ac La
iti

Ass. Lecture / Ghady Yasser Mohamed

Basic Science Department
Under supervision
Prof.DR/ Sahar Adel
Professor of Basic Science
 Electrical Safety

 Electrocution is a serious possible hazard with

electrotherapy.
 Causes of electrocution:
1. Faulty exposure of the conducting cable of
the machine.
2. Lack of or improper earthing of equipment.
3. Improper circuit connection.
4. Faults in an appliance.
Earth circuit
 General requirements for the safety of medical
electrical equipment
1. The problem of cable exposure can be forestalled by
making sure that all electrical appliances come with a
durable and protective rubber insulator, and that, from
time to time, the cable is examined for any form of
defect.
2. Proper earthing of the circuit can be ensured by the use
of a three pin plug.
3. Faults in an equipment can be prevented through
regular servicing.
 Hazards of superficial Heating Modalities
MHP and IRR
1. Very short distance between the patient and the
infra-red radiation (IRR) lamp.

2. Use of insufficient layers or thickness of towels in

hot pack therapy can result in burns.
 Precautions of superficial Heating Modalities

1. Regulation of intensity of superficial heating modalities that

determined by the layers or thickness of towels separating
the body part and the pack and the distance of the lamp
from the part being treated .

2. Loss of skin sensation may cause burns, especially in cases

where the patient is not able to indicate the level of heat
he/she perceives.

3. Instruct the patient not to touch the glass bulb inside the
lamp while in use to avoid burns.
4.The patient’s skin must be clean and free of liniment
or dust.

5. The eyes protected with goggles or cotton wool

soaked in water, especially if any part of the face is to
be irradiated.
 Hazars of Lasers
These hazard includes damage to non-targets, such as
sebaceous glands.
Contraindications of laser:
1.Cancerous tissue.
2.Unclosed fontanelle of infants
3.Over the pregnant uterus
4.Patients with pacemakers
5.Areas of venous thrombosis, phlebitis and arterial
disease.
 Precautions of laser:
1-The eyes of both the physiotherapist and the patient
must be protected with suitable goggles provided for the
specific type of laser in use
•Other modalities such as wax therapy have their own
special ways of preventing burns in patients. For wax
therapy, the wax bath has a thermostat that regulates
the temperature of the wax. Furthermore, use of pure
paraffin wax ensures that the temperature of the wax
ranges between 45 and 49 degree celsius
 DEEP HEATING MODALITIES
DEEP HEATING MODALITIES as short wave and
microwave diathermy units heat tissue through
absorption of energy from electromagnetic fields

Those guidelines which are relevant to the use of

diathermy equipment are as follows:
1. Maximum electric field strength should not exceed
61 V/m.
2. Maximum mean magnetic field strength should not
exceed 0.16 A/m.
3. Maximum mean power density should not exceed
10 W/m2
 Ultraviolet radiation(UVR)

• Contraindication of UVR:
Not advisable in individuals with hypersensitive skin, a
family history of skin cancer, pregnant women, herpes
infection as well as patients on drugs causing
photosensitivity.
Precautions with UVR:
1. Lenses should be removed while goggles should be
worn by both the physiotherapist and the patient.
2. Creams, perfumes or cosmetics must not be used or
should be cleaned off before receiving UVR
 General precaution with DIRECT CURRENT (DC)
as Galvanic current (GC)
1.Prevention of strong muscle contraction, which can
cause joint or muscle damage.
2. Detachment of thrombus, spread of infection, and
haemorrhage.
3.Prevention of stimulation of autonomic nerves that
may cause altered cardiac rhythm or other autonomic
effects.
4. Also, the current must not change in intensity too
rapidly or the pain receptors of the skin may be
stimulated, in addition to the muscle.
• 5.To ensure safety during application:

•Electrodes must stay in contact with the skin while the

machine is operating.
• The intensity of the current should be reduced when
bony regions of the face are being treated.
•Silver or platinum electrodes should be used to avoid
tissue reaction.
•Between treatments, the electrode pads and the
securing straps must be disinfected in hypochlorite
solution.
•The electrode pads should be strapped securely and
soaked in electrode solution to prevent burns.
•The two electrodes should not be allowed to come in
contact while the machine is on to avoid short
circuiting.

•At every review appointment, a visual inspection of

EMS equipment must be made. If the patient reports a
problem with the functioning of the stimulator, further
checks must be made.

Different shapes of electrodes

 ALTERNATING CURRENT
as Faradic current

•Faradic current (FC) is produced by conversion of

rapidly interrupted direct current into alternating
current, which is applied to the body by means of
electrodes. This direct application of current along with
its potential fluctuations sometimes causes unpleasant
shock in subjects. Over time, an improved form of FC
has been produced to minimize this hazard.
 CONCLUSION

• General safety precautions:

 Avoiding contraindications to individual modalities.

 Ensuring electrical safety of the equipment.

 Giving comprehensive instructions to the patients.

 Maintaining adequate distance between the body

parts and the equipment as well as delivering
optimal dosage of the modalities to the patient are
crucial to ensuring safety in electrotherapy.