Keeping an innovative eye on patient safety

Leoni supplies an optical fibre pinch-guard for Siemens x-ray units

With an innovation called Leoni Pinchguard®, the manufacturer of wires, cables and wiring systems has begun a new chapter in the application and implementation of light in technical contexts. Tactile sensors developed on the basis of optical wave technology can now react to pressure and precisely measure its intensity. Thanks to highly-flexible plastic optical fibres that allow for bending radii of up to 3 millimetres, this new system can flex its muscles in even the tightest of places. The optoelectronics in the system enable the adjustment of the switching thresholds in perfect conformance to a customer’s individual requirement. The sensor itselfs exploits the physical effects of an evanescent field, and this makes it – in contrast to other sensors – absolutely EMC-resistant, and thus suitable for a wide variety of applications.

Of especial interest are the talents demonstrated by the Pinchguard® in the field of medical technology. Immediately following the presentation of the new system to representatives of Siemens Medical Solutions, the company decided in favour of implementing the super-flexible optical waveguides as a pinch-guard in its bed-side x-ray diagnostics systems. The Leoni Business Unit Medical set to work on the further development of a system based on Pinchguard® technology in respect to series production with built-in quality assurance tests in accordance with customer requirements and in conformance to current Siemens insourcing procedures.

Thus, Leoni offers a space-saving and economically-feasible innovation for medical equipment manufacturers in the interest of increased patient safety. In its Medical business unit, the company offers both the flexibility and the expertise necessary to integrate their innovative cables quickly into existing customer solutions.

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