// Press release
Footswitches for medical equipment are being assigned increasingly complex tasks. At the same time, the manufacturers of medical devices are calling for simple and standardised interfaces to aid communication between external operating systems and their equipment.
For this (wide) range of applications, steute has developed a USB interface able to transmit footswitch signals to conventional PCs. Up to eight digital and three analogue inputs are possible.
One considerable advantage provided by a USB connection is the visualisation of transmitted information. The exact position of a pedal or joystick, for example, can be displayed on a PC screen, while the operating status of actuators can be displayed on superordinate visualisation systems. This increases transparency, informing operators and staff about activated device functions and thus helping to avoid functional or operational defects, a major safety factor.
The new interface can be integrated in nearly all steute footswitches – even those with several switching systems for different functions. steute can also tailor the USB board to include customer-specific functions.
