If your company operates in the medical arena, then you probably use a large number of casters. Items of machinery and equipment have to be highly maneuverable so they can be placed where they need to be quickly and efficiency. This means you need casters that roll freely, require little to no maintenance and will perform to the highest standards at all times.
Medical wheels and casters are crucial to the institutional, healthcare, and pharmaceutical industries, and these specialized casters are needed more than the typical range and control attributes of normal casters. If you’ve ever had to steer an uncooperative caster-mounted shopping cart around a supermarket, then you’ll understand how difficult some casters can be!
Hospital Equipment Casters are Highly Specialized!
Nearly all mobile items of equipment used in the medical profession need to have the ability to move along multiple axes and in a variety of conditions and environments. While you might consider that there is no cleaner environment than a medical facility, on some unfortunate occasions things can get a little messy, and on other occasions the casters may come into contact with corrosive or otherwise hostile substances. A general duty caster simply is not up to this kind of task.
Standard Casters Simply Won’t Do
Most casters suitable for medical use can be supplied in a variety of finishes and materials, from the heavy-duty abilities of steel to the quiet-rolling attributes of nylon (a necessary choice in environments where noise pollution is required to be kept down to a minimum). Such casters also come in a wide range of wheel sizes, load capacities, and mounting types. The essential aspect of a caster that’s suitable for the use where hospital equipment is involved is to reduce the strain that operators may experience when moving equipment around and to maximize patient comfort.
Some typical uses of casters for hospital equipment include:
- Diagnostic equipment
- Hospital beds
- Intravenous (IV) drip stands/poles
- Mobile medical equipment
- Stretchers
- Medical carts and gurneys
Here are the TOP 3 CASTERS for medical equipment that we can provide for you here at Douglas Equipment:
1. Shepherd Casters – Z Series Composite Institutional
For a sleek-looking, reliable caster, we thoroughly recommend the Z Series Composite Institutional caster from Shepherd. Shepherd is one of the most successful caster manufacturers in the USA, if not the world, and we are more than happy to stock their products, and to offer them to our customers.
The Z Series casters come with a range of options, from the base model through to models with threaded stems, grim stems and top plates, as well as casters with both total locks (to keep a caster-mounted item in place) and directional locks (to turn a swivel caster into a fixed caster).
All Z Series casters come with a dual ball bearing raceway, and with a labyrinth seal to prevent moisture and debris from invading the caster’s inner workings. For durability, the nylon body is glass-filled, and the caster comes complete with a sealed precision wheel bearing in a sleek and stylish design.
This series of reliable casters from Shepherd Casters can cope with loads between 260-300 lbs.
2. Albion Casters – Prevenz Antimicrobial Wheels
Specifically, for medical or clean industrial needs, the Prevenz wheels used in some Albion Casters contain a special antimicrobial compound. This compound is designed to help prevent the growth of unwanted microbes, including bacteria, mildew, mold and fungi. Such wheels contain active elements that negate the ability of such microbes to grow and reproduce.
Unlike some coated wheels, the Prevenz material forms an integral part of the caster’s wheel, therefore the caster will not simply become a ‘normal’ caster once the coating has worn off. Indeed, the effectiveness of the Prevenz material is not diminished throughout the lifetime of the wheel by (for example) scratches or simple wear and tear. The use of Prevenz material does not mean that you should reduce your normal hygienic cleaning practices.
Prevenz Antimicrobial Wheels can be fitted on a number of casters that are manufactured by Albion, meaning that it should be simple for you to arrive at a suitable configuration for your needs.
3. Rhombus – 399 Medical Equipment Caster
The 399 as manufactured by Rhombus is a high grade, lockable caster with an integrated wheel lock. If aesthetics are important in your specific medical environment, then you’ll be pleased to learn that various colors of this caster are available. These wheels are hygiene-friendly and designed to be effective against corrosive elements such as oils and chemicals.
The caster is constructed with an aluminum, die-cast housing complete with sealed precision ball bearings in the fork head. Largely maintenance free, each individual caster can cope with a load of 330 lbs.
Rhombus manufactures a complete range of casters suitable for hospital use – just download their parts catalog from our site and look for casters with the serial number beginning with ’39’. Although the majority of medical casters constructed by Rhombus are designed to be used with hospital beds, they can also be used with certain other types of hospital equipment and medical appliances.
Making Sure All Your Hospital Equipment Caster Issues are Solved
We don’t just specialize in casters for hospital equipment here at Douglas Equipment. We distribute from the top manufacturers to countless businesses throughout the USA, which means we know our casters inside out – better than anybody in fact! This means we are completely able to deal with all types of questions related to casters – including medical equipment casters – no matter the size, scope or application.
You’re welcome to speak to a member of our team of caster experts at any time. All you need to do is pick up the phone and call us at 1-800-451-0030. If you’d rather, you’re just as welcome to use the online contact form that’s available on our website. We look forward to working with you soon.
