A Clear-Com FreeSpeak II wireless intercom system was recently deployed at a Houston-based medical center for improved improved communications among its staff members and technicians working with hyperbaric chambers and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) from both inside and outside the chamber.
Hyperbaric chambers typically come delivered with a built-in communications setup to facilitate interaction between the staff members during ongoing therapy sessions. However, the integrated comms system proved inadequate for this medical center’s needs, offering poor, unclear sound quality while not providing the long-distance range and coverage the customer required.
After some trial and error, the medical center turned to Broadcast Technical Services (BTS) in Houston to help with these challenges, which recommended and supplied the FreeSpeak II system, including transceiver, beltpacks, and headsets. It supplies four channels of communication and supports a range of up to 300 feet.
“Before reaching out to us, this customer was using another professional-grade comms system, but it often failed,” adds Michael Hobart, vice president – sales at Broadcast Technical Services. “The oxygen pressure within the hyperbaric chamber is increased two to three times higher than normal air pressure, which was simply too much for the equipment to hold up against, and the boards inside the beltpacks were physically bending and shorting out. Clear-Com’s reliability really shines, proving it’s the wireless professional comms system of choice for these types of environments. For decades their solutions have been well-known in the medical industry for their robust usability, ease of use, and quality standards.”
This medical center required a wide scope of communication coverage for the hyperbaric area to connect a full medical team – the physician or assisting attendant inside the chamber who supervises and assesses the patient, technicians outside of the chamber who are operating and maintaining the chamber, and a variety of support staff who may even be in adjacent rooms.
“When it comes to voice communications, this customer needed something with exceptional clarity, something easy to use, and a hands-free operation that helps with multitasking and cleanliness,” Hobart says. “Now, they’re able to communicate as a team anywhere far more effectively in the hyperbaric area and beyond, which they report has stepped up their teamwork and productivity. Their conversations are now much clearer, and they’re not limited to one-way communication.”
The FreeSpeak II base station sits next to the hyperbaric chamber control console area, with a transceiver sitting on top of the chamber to centralize the communication range. It can be scaled in the future, depending on how many doctors, nurses, and technicians are staffed for a particular patient case. In addition, it supports many different interfaces, so can be connected to a range of intercom systems to share channels and increase the range of communications.
