Merivaara has unveiled one of the world’s most versatile operating tables for elective procedures. The new, smarter Practico was designed to improve ergonomics with the industry’s widest range of posture possibilities.
“Customers have been asking for a table like this for years,” says Jyrki Nieminen, Merivaara’s R&D director. “It has been in development for two years and we have received amazing feedback regarding the design, aesthetics and technical specifications.”
Flexible, mobile operating tables are in high demand due to the rise in minimally invasive surgeries. The Practico family of operating tables is modular for a wide variety of surgical procedures. The Practico Max Hi goes up to 1143 mm (45 inches), while the Practico Max Lo goes down to 540 mm (21.3 inches), making it one of the lowest mobile tables on the market.
“The population is getting older, so it is important for a table to be lowered so it is comfortable to sit upon,” Nieminen explains. “But a low table is even more important for the surgeon. Sometimes they have to stand on platforms in order for the patient to be at the right position. With the Practico the surgeon can put the patient exactly where he wants.”
The table is also robust and can handle 280 kg. When you combine height adjustability with the tilt angle, Trendelenburg angle, and angles for both the back and leg sections, the Practico is impressively adaptable.
“We worked very hard on the design,” Nieminen continues. “The base, wheels and covers are unique and resulted in an extremely compact base. There are deep cut-outs on the sides of the base so the surgeon can stand right next to the table.”
They followed the time-honoured Nordic design principle of simplicity and utility. The base is tapered so that fluids flow off, and even screws are hidden so there are no dirt traps. It makes for fast and easy cleaning between procedures.
“Hospitals and clinics are increasingly using the C-arm for imaging, so we designed the Practico to give you the best access,” Nieminen says. “The collaboration between an operating table and C-arm has never been this easy before.”
A safety sensor in the base cover automatically stops the movement of the table when the leg section touches the base. It also has a simple and easy-to-use hand control with an intuitive user interface and several memory positions, saving staff from unnecessary hassle. The user interface is similar to other Merivaara products and can be connected to the Merivaara OpenOR integrated operating room management system.