ABB has provided a power protection solution to Blenheim, Whakatane and Tauranga hospital’s in New Zealand to condition the power supply for Toshiba’s AquilionPRIME and AquilionONE CT scanners. ABB's PCS100 Active Voltage Conditioner (PCS100 AVC) will eliminate unwanted voltage sags caused by the utility, which can compromise the CT scanner’s performance.
The three New Zealand hospitals were at risk from power quality problems for their CT scanners (located in the radiology and emergency departments) that rely heavily on 24/7 availability for diagnosis of trauma cases. Computed tomography (CT) has been a boon for medical care by generating detailed anatomical images, the technology can improve diagnoses, assist with management of medical procedures, and enhance treatment. It is crucial that this technology is protected from power quality events caused by weather conditions or internal factors within hospitals.
ABB’s PCS100 AVC technology is protecting Toshiba’s CT Scanner from power quality events at Wairau Hospital in Blenheim, New Zealand
Without a reliable power protection system in place to condition the voltage supply for the CT scanners, the efficiency of the scanners would be jeopardized. New Zealand's Service Manager at Toshiba Medical Ian Bray, reiterated the importance of power protection for CT scanners.
A clean and stable power supply is essential for the CT scanner to consistently produce high quality images for patient diagnosis. Power transients, surges and disruptions also have the potential to damage the electronic components within the CT scanner resulting in unnecessary expense and downtime
Eliminating the problem
With ABB's PCS100 AVCs in place, the hospitals will experience benefits such as, a stable power source to the CT scanner, resulting in prompt and accurate patient diagnosis. This is achieved by the PCS100 AVC being able to correct voltage sags, phase angle errors, unbalance and surges, while providing continuous voltage regulation. The PCS100 AVC requires no energy storage as it draws the additional current required to make up the correction voltage from the utility supply, ensuring lowest total cost of ownership is achieved. Philip Thomas, Radiology Team Leader at Wairau Hospital outlined the reason for adopting an ABB power protection solution. “We were advised to install the PCS100 AVC as part of the installation of the new scanner. There were concerns that the power supply in this area was of a "dirty" nature, which may have compromised the CT system performance.”
ABB will soon launch the PCS100 AVC-40 (for sag correction) and PCS100 AVC-20 (for voltage regulation). For more information on these two products, please email ABB Power Conditioning ([email protected])