Leading manufacturers of medical cables
Medical industry cables are needed to ensure the proper functioning of vital hospital equipment, such as MRI scanners, X-ray machines, CT scanners and ECG devices.
These medical wires and cables deliver power to this equipment and transfer vital data for operations, all whilst being able to resist microbial growth and uphold strict hygiene standards.
In addition, medical cables are designed to withstand extremely demanding environments. They need to fit into very small spaces, maintain critical hygiene standards, withstand rigorous cleaning procedures (such as autoclave sterilisation), and maintain reliability so that medical equipment performs accurately and optimally at all times. Some of the vital features of medical industry cables include:
- Extreme tensile strength
- Mechanical flexibility
- Sterilisability
- Biocompatibility
- High level of reliability
Medical cable manufacturer
Here at Custom Designed Cables, we have years of experience with designing cable solutions for a wide variety of applications and industries, including medical equipment such as MRI scanners. In addition to manufacturing ‘off the shelf’ cable solutions for common use cases, we also specialise in creating custom cables for the medical industry. So no matter how unique your project is, we can work closely with you to design a bespoke medical cable that perfectly fits your requirements. With our ISO 9001:2015, UL & CSA approvals, we guarantee that all of our medical cables are manufactured to the strictest national, international and industry standards.
Contact us now to see how we can help with a custom cable for the medical industry.
Requirements for custom medical industry cables
Medical cables are subject to extreme temperature fluctuations, harsh chemicals, large amounts of weight and pressure, and many other environmental stressors. As such, they must be designed and manufactured with these specific conditions in mind. Once they meet these strict conditions, they can be used in a wide range of medical equipment, such as defibrillators, MRI scanners, X-ray machines and ECG devices.
Here are the main requirements that all medical cables must meet:
Durability
Medical cables must be more durable and long-lasting due to the amount of stress they experience on a daily basis. Plus, the consequences of the device failing are much more dire, so it’s imperative that all components can stand the test of time.
In certain environments, extremely strong medical wires and cables are needed to withstand direct impacts, high pressure, and heavy handling without failure.
In these cases, custom-made steel cables for the medical industry are required to offer the strength needed without compromising on hygiene and flexibility, which are also key in healthcare settings.
Reliability
As mentioned above, the consequences of faulty medical equipment can be much more severe than in other industries. Therefore, all medical cables need to ensure signal integrity at all times, especially during emergency procedures.
Resistance to interference
Part of ensuring signal integrity is shielding devices against electromagnetic interference (EMI). All medical cables must resist this interference to make sure data is transferred successfully and the equipment works as expected.
Biocompatibility
Biocompatibility refers to how compatible a material or device is with a biological system, such as the human body. For example, medical devices that are implanted in the body must not cause significant irritation or cytotoxicity, and the same applies for cables for medical devices with these applications.
Medical cables that come into contact with patients must be made of biocompatible materials that won’t cause harm, whilst still being effective. Plus, these cables must be able to withstand biological fluids, so appropriate moisture-resistant cable jacketing materials are required.
Chemical resistance
To uphold strict hygiene standards, all medical equipment and components will be frequently exposed to harsh cleaning chemicals and processes (such as autoclave sterilisation). This includes all medical cables, which need to be strong enough to withstand this treatment without breaking down. This is a very onerous sterilisation method and typical materials are not durable enough to withstand it.
Strength and flexibility
Medical device cables need to be used for extremely intricate applications, and as such they need to be manoeuvred in tight spaces and be flexible enough to move as required. Therefore, extreme tensile strength and mechanical flexibility are needed to ensure that these cables can bend and flex with their equipment.
Disposability
Some medical cables are designed to be disposable. This means they don’t have to be designed with the same level of strength, durability and resistance to chemicals, although they still need to meet stringent health and safety standards.
Disposable cables may be preferable for some types of medical equipment compared to permanent cable installations that must be much stronger and more durable. However, these products are generally more difficult to source, which is where our services are required.
Why choose Custom Designed Cables for bespoke medical cables?
Looking for medical cables or medical wires to suit your unique project? Here at Custom Designed Cables, we can design and manufacture custom cable solutions for a huge range of medical equipment and use cases, including MRI scanning, X-ray scanning, CT scanning and more. We’ll work with you at every stage to ensure that your medical industry cables are suitable for your project and will be delivered to meet strict deadlines and industry standards. We pride ourselves on our expertise, attention to detail and excellent customer service, which allow us to create high-quality, bespoke cables that are guaranteed to last for years to come.
Our excellent customer service and fast turnaround times are the cornerstone of the service that we offer. We maintain constant communication with our clients throughout each project to ensure that all products are delivered on time and to the highest quality standard, even for the most challenging deadlines.
In addition to exceptionally fast turnaround times and high-quality cable construction, we offer:
- Full adherence to cable industry standards
- Access to a comprehensive material and component library
- Free consultation and advice
As experts in the design and manufacture of custom medical cables, we can provide tailored advice for any healthcare-related project – no matter how extensive or complex it may be. Whether you already have a cable design in mind or need full support from start to finish, contact us today to get a quote for your medical cable requirements.
Frequently asked questions
What are medical cables?
Medical cables or medical wires are cables that are specifically for healthcare environments. As such, they must adhere to much stricter hygiene, strength, durability, flexibility, reliability, safety and anti-contamination standards.
If regular cables that haven’t been tested in a medical setting were used instead, they could compromise the sterility of the environment or fail at critical moments, putting lives at risk.
Medical devices can be used for a wide range of applications in healthcare facilities, including transmitting signals between equipment, powering medical devices, regulating automated processes, and much more. Due to this variety, custom-made medical device cables are often required, as they will be designed for highly specific functions, tested more rigorously in the exact types of environments they will be used in, and custom-built according to the exact dimensions and specifications of a particular device – such as an MRI scanner or ECG device.
What are the different types of medical cables?
Just like cables produced for other environments or applications, medical cables can come in various types in order to fulfil different tasks. These medical cable types can include:
- Control cables
- Coaxial cables
- Data cables
- Power cables
- Multicore cables
- Retractable cables
If you can’t find the right pre-existing cable for your application, then get in touch with us today to discuss your requirements. We’ll design, manufacture and test your custom medical cables to create a custom cable solution that meets all necessary performance, safety and hygiene standards.
