Monday 28 October 2013

Choosing Laboratory and Medical Refrigerators

It is essential that all types of refrigeration cabinets perform well and reliably, but this is even more crucial for medical refrigerators and freezers being used in a clinical setting. Here, precision is vital as these units are often used to store products such as blood samples, which must be kept at an exact temperature to preserve them in perfect condition.

Laboratory refrigerators and freezers also require highly accurate controls for their role in storing chemicals, potentially flammable substances and a whole range of other materials used in scientific research. For all these reasons, the specialist standards set for laboratory and medical refrigerators are still more rigorous than those for other types of refrigeration equipment. Also, their designs incorporate a number of features geared to their specialist functions.

Porkka manufactures a range of medical and laboratory refrigerators and freezers, all made to the highest standards and with the emphasis on energy efficiency, which can be used in a number of different settings. Here we will look at which types of products are most appropriate for various scientific and medical uses.

Medical refrigerators – Click here to browse our product range.

Pharmacies and Chemists

Pharmacists have the vital role of dispensing medicines, many of which must be stored at exact temperatures. Porkka manufactures specialist pharmacy refrigerators, which are the ideal solution for keeping these drugs in optimum conditions. These cabinets come with a glass window and LED lighting as standard, allowing a pharmacist to select the required medicine in advance before opening the door, and so save on energy. However, a full stainless steel door, or a full glass door, is available if preferred.

Our pharmacy cabinets have a whole range of safeguards built in, such as a digital temperature display, high/low temperature alarms and tamper protection for their keyboards. Each includes three drawers which can be pulled out, as well as three shelves for storage of larger items. Our PC 520/720/722 GW models are all 2030mm in height, but have different storage capacities, ranging from 291 litres right up to 447 litres. All these cabinets are built to high standards of energy efficiency.

GP Surgeries and Health Centres

A GP surgery or health centre is likely to need a medical refrigerator to store items such as vaccines and medicines which need to be kept at a certain temperature. Our specialist range includes smaller refrigerators which would be ideal for many surgeries of this type, with our smallest model being the M70. This has measurements of just 595 x 460 x 720mm. Like all our medical and laboratory freezers and refrigerators, it meets the European standard ISO 8561.

A potentially important feature for health centres is the fact that all our cabinets allow temperature to be remotely monitored and recorded. This means that if they have to store items which are then passed on to other organisations, for instance when carrying out medical tests, they can provide evidence of proper storage. All our fridges for use in medical conditions also allow USB stick temperature recording.

Hospitals

Hospital staff require access to different types of medical refrigerators, depending on the particular department. All the medical fridges and freezers in our range, from the smallest to the largest, are designed to suit hospital conditions, including those of operating theatres, and meet the highest standards of both security and hygiene. Products available vary from large medical freezers or fridges to smaller bench-top models.

For larger departments, the MC 520/720/722 range of refrigerators provides storage of up to 575 litres, while the MF 520/720/722 freezers have the same dimensions. Another option is the MC/MF 722 Combi, a combination medical fridge and freezer. And, for circumstances where frozen plasma needs to be stored, our plasma freezers, storing at temperatures as low as -32C, are the answer.

All our equipment is made from hygienic and easily-cleaned materials, while another feature we include is specialist bacteria-proof systems to collect condensed water from the refrigeration process and prevent it being a source of potential contamination. As well as precise and accurate temperature recording, our medical fridges all have lockable doors, which are obviously vital for security. Our product range also includes non-refrigerated secure medicine cupboards, which can incorporate narcotics lockers.

Laboratories

The needs of research laboratories are often different to those of health centres and hospitals, and they require laboratory refrigerators and freezers providing specialist features geared to their requirements. For instance, staff at any lab storing hazardous chemicals must be alert to the risk of them exploding if they are not kept at the right temperature. Porkka's spark-proof Lab Line models, Lab 300 and Lab 75, protect sensitive contents like these, and prevent danger to staff. These are available in a range of sizes, similar to our medical fridges.

The temperature range in a lab may have to be much wider than in a medical environment, so the RC520 and RC720 lab fridges can keep contents at anything between 2 and 40C. Our laboratory freezers, RF520 and RF570, can reach temperatures as low as -30C. Our range also includes large incubators for labs and scientific institutes and specialist chromatography refrigerators.

Whatever type of laboratory or medical freezers or refrigerators you require, Porkka's range features state-of-the-art equipment which will meet your needs and achieve guaranteed quality for many years to come.

Laboratory Refrigerators  –  Follow the link to see our range of products.