SCHURTER White Paper: TA35 Antibac0 pages

TA35 Antibac

White Paper

schurter.com/downloads

Hygiene in medical technology
Antimicrobial equipment switches and circuit breakers
Medical equipment and their components must meet high standards of hygiene to ensure
patient and staff safety. Therefore, SCHURTER offers special switches and circuit breakers provided with antimicrobial covers for use in equipment for medical technology.

bacteria spread just as easily through direct
hand contact or by touching interaction
elements such as switches and door handles.
The result is a large range of possible bacteria
that can collect on equipment controls
operated by people.

Hygiene in hospitals protects patients and
health care professionals (Source:
SCHURTER AG)
Human skin is densely populated with bacteria
and fungi. Researchers have identified more
than 4,700 types of bacteria that live on the
palms of our hands, with each person carrying
as many as 150 different types. The composition of these bacterial colonies differs
considerably from person to person, even from
one hand to the other; in fact, 83 percent of the
bacteria on one of a person's hands are not
present on the other hand. This wide variety of
bacteria normally presents no danger for
healthy people. However, pathogens such as
flu and cold viruses and pestilential intestinal

SCHURTER has addressed this problem
specifically and now offers the proven TA35
equipment switch and circuit breaker with an
antimicrobial cover. The circuit breaker is
already used to provide thermal overcurrent
protection in high-quality applications around
the world. Its new antimicrobial properties
further expand its range of use into sensitive
applications where the spread of bacteria must
not occur. These include medical and
laboratory equipment, such as switches for
electrically adjustable patient beds, anesthesia
workstations,
medical
ventilators
and
centrifuges in laboratory settings as well as
apparatus used in the food industry.
The antimicrobial properties of the switches
are achieved with silver ions, which in high
concentrations act as a bactericide. Their
effectiveness against the growth of the bacterial
strains Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus
aureus, which are particularly feared in the
medical area, have been tested and confirmed

E. coli, a feared strain of bacteria (Source:
shutterstock)
according to ISO 22196. However, silver ions
also inhibit the growth of countless other
organisms. They are not applied as a coating
but are mixed directly into the plastic, which
provides
for
considerably
long-lasting
effectiveness. The transparent protective
coating of the TA35 is also waterproof and
dustproof, meeting the requirements of
Protection Class IP65, and is resistant to
common cleaning and disinfectant agents.
Thus, SCHURTER contributes to more
cleanliness, which also leads to reduced
numbers of corrupted results in laboratory
analyses and fewer disease transmissions in
medical care centers. As a result, the spread of
contagious diseases such as the MRSA
(Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
infection, which more than 160,000 patients
suffer from each year in German hospitals
alone, may be impeded in patient care facilities.

TA35 technical features:
--t
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-t
-TA35 with antimicrobial properties from SCHURTER (Source: SCHURTER AG)

1

Circuit breakers

Rated current: 50 mA - 20 A
Standards: IEC 60934, UL 1077,
CSA C22.2 235, GB 17701
1-, 2- and 3-pole designs
Lighted or unlighted rocker in six colors
Wide range of labels or customer-specific t
symbols
Efficient snap-in assembly in plates from 1 t
to 4 mm thick
6.3 x 0.8 mm quick-connect terminals