Photo Credit: Superior Essex

Category 6+ Cabling Carries Medical Images and Records to Backbone of Network

Medical care has steadily improved in recent years with improved imaging being one important factor and better management of patient records another. The sharing of medical images and records is aided by advanced networks in modern medical centers. Such data may be needed for patient evaluation and consultation with experts. Timely access can save lives.

The Carson Tahoe Medical Campus in Nevada sets a benchmark for what can be done with digital networks in a hospital setting. A high-speed, scalable, flexible data network interconnects all buildings on the 87-acre campus, including a newly constructed regional medical center as well as a center for surgery and imaging. These buildings are equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and communications services, which allow caregivers to easily access comprehensive patient records at the bedside or point-of-care.

The campus combines the best features of copper cabling, wireless handsets and fiber optics into a seamless network. VoIP is creating extensive flexibility, allowing staff to place and answer calls from any location in the hospital using a wireless handset. For the horizontal, the Category 6+ copper cabling solution provides a reliable, no-risk performance in demanding, high-traffic networks. A fiber optic cabling system provides the backbone of the network.

“One of our goals is to create a 100-percent digital environment.” said Chief Information Officer Michael Blair, who oversees Carson Tahoe’s technology program. “That is a very bandwidth-intensive service. To create a reliable system, we needed a very strong and fast cabling network to transfer the images and data from place to place. The benefit of this change was immediate.”

A single voice and data platform was installed to support an all-digital, film-less imaging environment, electronic medical records, computerized workstations, wireless connectivity, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone system.

Multiple new digital records management systems are helping doctors order diagnostic tests and view the results, chart patient information, track patient satisfaction, order and process medications as well as send, retrieve and store large images such as x-ray, radiology, cardiology, digital mammography that demand crisp clarity.

Now, patient information can be accessed and healthcare decisions made by an authorized caregiver wherever there is a web-enabled PC.

For more information about the use of Category 6+ cabling in critical applications such as medical networks, contact the Copper Development Association or visit www.copper.org.

Photo Credit: Ice Energy

New HVAC design uses substantial amount of copperfor shifting electricity loads during peak-hours

When the temperature outside soars above 90 degrees, walking into a building that’s well air-conditioned is a welcome respite. This instant rejuvenation comes with a cost, paid in demand on the electrical supply. In warmer climates, the constant demand for energy during a hot summer’s day require additional “peaking power plants,” to kick in strictly to support the load when air-conditioning demand is at its highest. These plants are less efficient than base power plants, and expensive to build and operate.

Ice Energy in Windsor, Colorado has come up with a solution to keep offices cool by tapping into the electrical grid when it’s used the least, without having to build additional “peaker plants” to support it.

Ice Energy, a leading provider of intelligent energy storage solutions for the utility industry, first introduced the Ice Bear® Ice Storage Air-Conditioner in 2004. The thought process behind this new technology is simple: use electricity at night to store energy in the form of ice, by making the ice when electricity is less expensive and more abundant, and use that stored energy during the day to provide cooling with less electrical input during times of peak demand.

The actual system is about the size of a regular commercial air-conditioning unit, and it attaches to the pre-existing unit. The Ice Bear system functions like a regular AC unit, but uses its onboard compressor, expansion valve, and large copper cooling coils containing 250 – 400 pounds of copper, to freeze 450 gallons of water into ice overnight. During the day and times of peak demand, the stored ice is used to cool refrigerant within the Ice Bear and transfer it to the condenser coil in the companion air-conditioning unit rather than running the unit’s compressor. The cold refrigerant is routed through the Ice Bear and the existing AC unit by a small pump, rather than a compressor, cutting down on electricity usage for cooling from 6 kilowatts to 100 watts (similar to the electricity load of a light bulb).

“The Ice Bear can be considered a thermal energy storage system and a load shifting device,” said Ice Energy’s director of engineering and manufacturing, Ed Giordano. “Each Ice Bear can cool about 4,000 square feet, and its application focuses on public and commercial buildings.”

This new technology is now being used at healthcare facilities where proper cooling ventilation is critical for patients and its visitors. Glendale Optometric Center and the Glendale Cancer Treatment Center recently installed the systems on their rooftops.

“Utilities benefit because they can postpone building new peaker plants, and society benefits because producing energy at night is cleaner and less expensive,” Giordano said. “It’s embraced as a green technology since installing one Ice Bear is the equivalent to taking one car, and its exhaust, off the road.”

Giordano said copper is used because it’s durable, easy to use, and a good thermal conductor.

“We use copper for all the reasons you’d expect: good ductility to create the forms we need, excellent heat transfer capability, and because traditionally it’s the preferred metal used by the HVAC industry. Furthermore, the copper is in contact with water and dissolves atmospheric gases throughout its entire life, so the application demands the fine environmental tolerance offered by copper.”

Currently, Southern California is where a majority of these systems have been installed. Ice Energy is completing the first year of a 5-year program with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) to install as many as 7,000 units. The company estimates that the program, once completed, will shift 64 gigawatt-hours each year of on-peak electrical consumption to off-peak.

For more information on Ice Bears visit: www.ice-energy.com

For more information on copper in HVAC visit: www.copper.org

Computers and networks are woven into the fabric of university life. Today, they are essential to the educational experience, whether training students for satisfying work in an increasingly digital world or connecting them to vast storehouses of knowledge pertaining to their specialized fields of study.

Networks are everywhere on campus, including dormitories, computer labs, media centers, libraries and research labs. Many business schools today have installed realistic securities “trading floors” complete with ticker boards, where students can learn how to execute real-time transactions in global markets based on up-to-the-minute financial data.

A computer-intensive educational facility requires the utmost in reliable, stable and clean electrical power, or what’s known as high power quality. An excellent example of power quality on campus is the electrical infrastructure at the Ray and Maria Stata Center on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Copper Offers Key Advantages for Local Networks

Commercial-building designers and architects continue to use copper in local networks because copper delivers on performance. The latest generation of copper communications wiring for office environments is Augmented Category 6 copper wiring, commonly referred to as “Cat-6a.”

Cat-6a copper satisfies data-transfer requirements in the majority of horizontal office-environment applications as well as many network “backbone” applications. It operates at frequencies up to 500 MHz, which is twice that of Cat 6. It was defined in February 2008 in ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-10.

Cat-6a is ideal for installing multiple applications through the network simultaneously. It allows large-file transfers and bundled cable implementations for channels up to 100 meters. It can support high-end security applications and the distribution of digital audio and video.

Bigger Wires, Tighter Twists

Cat-6a cable is designed to avoid crosstalk interference between cables, a technical hurdle that had to be overcome in achieving 10G data rates, explains David Brender, National Program Manager at the Copper Development Association.

“It uses larger-diameter conductors, lower packing density and tighter twists,” he says. “In some cable designs, foil shields are utilized to achieve the necessary performance. The result is less loss of signal strength at high frequencies, significantly better crosstalk isolation between cables and improved heat dissipation.”

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Will We Ever Be Lost Again?

Men won’t admit to many things. They rarely acknowledge that they’re going bald, gained a few pounds, caught a cold or are ever wrong.

One thing you almost never hear a man say is that he’s lost, especially when he’s behind the wheel. What’s worse (as many women will attest) is that men typically refuse to pull over and ask for directions—even if it means driving in circles for hours.

But thanks to modern technology, men no longer need to ‘fess up to their shortcomings on the road, or wander aimlessly hoping to stumble across a familiar street or the correct exit to get them back on track.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have made life on the highway easier to navigate, improved time management and made traveling less stressful for road warriors today.

A key component of these and many other electronic devices is highly refined, ultrapure copper. Although individual GPS units do not contain a large amount of copper, they would not be able to perform critical functions without it.

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Electric power can be a friend … or a foe. Power outages and blackouts remind us how everyday life suddenly becomes primitive without electricity. If not properly handled, electrical power also poses a threat to individual lives and property. It can deliver a lethal jolt to a human body, or burn a home to the ground. It is called electric “power” for a reason.

If electricity is to be our friend then it is necessary to safeguard against certain hazards. Correction of these hazards could prevent many deaths, injuries and cases of property damage.  In the interest of assuring that electric power remains our friend, the Copper Development Association (CDA) has developed its own “Top Ten List of Electrical Hazards in the Home.”

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