Recommendations on Standards for the Design of Medical Diagnostic Equipment for Adults with Disabilities, Advisory Committee Final Report

Notes

^S Similarly, individuals receiving chemotherapy (treatment) may sit for many hours in infusion chairs, which have the capability of tilting the back support and raising lower leg supports. During these infusions sessions, the patients are monitored closely to detect (diagnose) any infusion reactions or other difficulties.

^T Operating rooms are sterile environments where access and activities are carefully controlled to avoid contamination. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and other operating room staff only enter the OR covered in sterile paper gowns and caps; persons touch the patients only with gloved hands, following intensive cleansing.

^U For instance, when patients are severely ill and need to be transported within a facility, staff will transfer them from their beds to the stretcher.

^V A variety of clinical and other considerations affect the choice of diagnostic testing for coronary artery disease, including: urgency (e.g., imminent threat of a heart attack); prior history of cardiac disease and coronary interventions; comorbid health conditions; other health risk factors; the availability of testing facilities; and patients’ preferences. The Advisory Committee did not consider the relative effectiveness of these different diagnostic approaches.

^W The proposed standards do not cover a few categories of equipment that may assist persons with disabilities in transferring onto or off of medical diagnostic equipment. Ancillary equipment, such as cushions, bolsters, straps, or sliding boards, can be used to facilitate transfers and to help position patients on medical diagnostic equipment. Lifts also can be used for transfer, although transfers performed with lifts are not independent. Because ancillary equipment and lifts do not perform any diagnostic function, they are not covered by the proposed accessibility standards.

^X The text below is what was sent to the clinician speakers. Please note that the language (e.g., about the two low options for transfer surface height) reflects the Advisory Committee’s activities and thinking at the time of the request to the clinician speakers.

^Y MITA is the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, a division of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association