Poland composites company WIT Composites has developed an operating theatre tabletop made from carbon fiber composite materials.
According to the company, the patented table is strong and has fittings that enable quick mechanical connections. The tabletop is lighter than existing solutions, making it easier to physically manage, while the material does not block x-rays.
The side rail is translucent and the fittings are also made of carbon fiber composites, eliminating blackspots where areas of the patient are not visible on a screen, such as during an operation using a C-arm, WIT says.
‘One of the critical things that we have been able to achieve is introduce a composite system that allows the quick fix and release of various attachments that are essential to the efficient working of the operating table,’ said Weronika Soszynska, managing director of WIT-Composites.
‘The most difficult challenge was to design/create a composite material with a variable Young's modulus, with different elastic properties in different sections of material,’ added WIT R&D director, Michael Wit-Rusiecki. ‘Parts of the structure also had to be resistant to rapid load changes. It took a lot of research, trial and error and testing. Undoubtedly the final product was much more difficult than we thought at the beginning. But we have completed the project successfully and have created a product that fulfills all those demands.’
This story uses material from WIT Composites, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
