Retractile Cords in the Medical Industry

Remember the old curly telephone cords you’d wind around your fingers while chatting on the phone with your grandma? More commonly known as coil cords or curly cord, these retractile/retractable cords have many uses aside from old telephones.

Many businesses — including those in the robotics, communications, military, energy, marine, electronics, food and beverage, and medical industries –– actually use curly cord in the equipment they operate every day. The medical industry, in particular, makes frequent use of retractile cords.

If you’re looking for retractable cords for your business, download our Retractile Cord Capabilities Guide.

The Benefits of Retractile Cords for the Medical Sector

In the medical sector, it’s imperative to utilize space wisely while properly maintaining critical equipment; machines and devices must be high-performing and reliable to protect practitioner and patient safety.

Medical equipment must also meet strict industry standards that help ensure optimal hygiene, safety, and efficacy; many devices, for instance, must undergo routine sterilization procedures. Therefore, to maximize safety, medical cables used in this equipment must be lightweight, durable, and resistant to twisting and knotting.

Some equipment may also require cords that come in a range of sizes and lengths to meet specific application needs. In an industry with such strict standards, customized retractable cords can provide an ideal solution for specific cable needs.

The unique design of curly cords is especially useful for saving space. Being able to extend in length multiple times before easily returning to their original shape, these cords are highly versatile and take up little room when not in use.

This ability to expand and condense in size not only conserves space but also helps users maintain a tidier work area, eliminating the clutter of long cords and wires. Plus, the unique design helps eliminate the safety issues posed by tangled cords.

Since these cords automatically retract, they help save time during critical medical procedures; no time is wasted putting wires away or wrapping up the cord. Retractable cords give users greater mobility than traditional options, allowing doctors and nurses to multitask without being constrained to a small area.

Common Medical Applications for Retractile Cords

At Consolidated Electronic Wire and Cable, we’re proud to provide custom retractable coils and cords for a number of applications in the medical industry. Common applications include defibrillators, X-ray and scanning equipment, and finger pulse oximeters, among many other types of equipment.

Our expert team works closely with clients across the medical industry to develop customized solutions that fit their unique needs. For example, a medical equipment provider recently approached us looking for a shielded, six-conductor, high-gloss polyurethane retractile cord.

Using state-of-the-art equipment, we were able to deliver a high-gloss cord that measured only 23 inches in length when retracted. The customer was extremely pleased with the final product and ordered a run of 10,000 parts. We were also able to provide a very short turnaround, completing the entire project in just three to four weeks.

In another previous job, a customer came to us looking for custom-made manufactured retractile cords for hospital carts. The customer found that too many of their current cords ended hanging down, blocking equipment and making it hard for staff to access necessary machines and devices.

With these specific needs in mind, we used a service junior thermoplastic to create a super-elastic cord that could withhold its shape 100 times better than most cords currently available.

In addition to offering better shape retention, these cords were also more durable — better able to resist marks, scratches, and liquids — while remaining highly compact, measuring just 1 inch in length when retracted and only 5 inches when extended. We have since manufactured these hospital-grade coil cords in volumes ranging from 50 to 100,000 pieces, usually with just a three-to-four-week turnaround.

Learn More

At Consolidated, we’re proud to offer custom solutions for retractable cords used throughout the medical industry. Not only do we maintain a full inventory of coil cords in stock, we also manufacture made-to-order cords to meet unique requirements and specifications.

We provide our customers with a variety of options, including the number of conductors available, both shielded and unshielded cables, varying lengths, and an array of colors and coatings.

To learn more about our retractable cord options or to discuss how Consolidated Electronic can help your company develop a customized cord solution, request a quote, contact us, or read more on Your Ultimate Source For Retractile Cords here.

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