Computing Equipment for the Medical Sector

Computers designed for the Medical Sector

There are many different requirements for computing equipment in the medical industries, from dedicated controllers for major analysis and treatment units to computers for mobile medical trolleys.

Major items like MRI scanners and radiology units need stable computers which perform significant tasks like image processing whilst maintaining the certification of the units. Any changes to the computer configuration or components would necessitate the inconvenience and expense of recertification, and possibly even software redesign. This is prevented by employing long life industrial computer technology which can maintain consistent supply for 5 to 7 years without the need for updates, together with strict configuration control and documentation.

Treatment and analysis equipment needs to be kept separate from general hospital IT networks in order to maintain security and immunity from software threats, like viruses, malware, etc, which could have very serious consequences. On the other hand analysis information and treatment programmes need to be integrated with patient records on the main IT network, so there is a powerful requirement for interconnection between the two networks – the clinical equipment network and the general hospital IT network. This can only be achieved if a very secure gateway is placed between the two networks. This is another area where Captec has particular experience.

Captec has many years’ experience supplying computer equipment to the medical industry, in particular for major medical equipment and for separation of the clinical and hospital networks. In addition computers for trolleys and other medical applications are part of our medical computing portfolio.

Typical customers in the medical sector include Philips Medical, Glaxo, Novadaq, Molecular Devices and Carestream.