Medical Scales for Professional Use
Weight determination plays an important role in many medical fields because weight provides information about the patient's nutritional and general condition. In the case of various metabolic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus or CHD, the weight is determined and documented at regular intervals, as being overweight is considered a risk factor for these diseases.
But weight control also plays an important role in the treatment of eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia, as further reduction of body weight should be prevented at all costs. In this case, the documentation of the weight curve serves as an instrument to measure the success of the therapy.
In paediatrics, the body weight of the child is also determined at regular intervals. Many baby scales come with a so-called Breast Milk Intake function, which is a simple way to measure the amount of milk consumed during breastfeeding. This control measurement provides information about whether the infant is drinking enough or whether intervention is necessary.
Common Bathroom Scales in Medical Diagnostics
In medical practices and hospitals, mechanical scales or digital scales are usually used, with an average weighing range of 0 to 200 kg. Thus, the weight of most patients can be determined without any problems. For patients who suffer from considerable overweight (obesity), there are special obesity scales with a weighing range of up to 250 kg or even 300 kg. These obesity scales with extra high weight capacity are particularly robust and usually also have a large non-slip platform.
Uncalibrated or Calibrated Bathroom Scales?
Bathroom scales used in medicine for curative purposes (diagnostics and therapy) must be calibrated. Such calibrated scales are also subject to the obligation to register, which means that a newly acquired, calibrated scale must be registered with the competent calibration authority. Failure to do so may result in a heavy fine for the practice owner. Only if the bathroom scale is not used as a classic medical scale, but only for self-monitoring by the user - for example in fitness studios or in swimming pools, an uncalibrated scale may be used. Every medical scale, whether baby scales, mechanical column scales or digital bathroom scales used in doctor's offices, hospitals or rehabilitation facilities need to be calibrated. Many scales need to be recalibrated after a certain time. However, it depends on where the scale is being used. Medical practices and occupational health practitioners, for example, are not obliged to have their scales recalibrated unless they use calibrated baby scales!
What are the Functions of Medical Scales?
Digital scales are equipped with different functions to simplify weighing, such as the determination of body fat and body composition. Here you will find an overview of the most important functions and their meaning.
The HOLD function:
Scales with HOLD function freeze the weighing result for a few seconds either when the weighing stops or by pressing the HOLD button or after the weighing surface is unloaded, so that the doctor or nurse can attend to the patient first before reading the weight. This function is extremely practical, especially for baby scales.
The TARE function:
With the help of this function, the scale can be set to 0 after something has been placed on the scale that is not to be weighed. This function is used on baby scales, for example, to weigh the baby in a blanket or diaper. First the blanket is placed on the scale, then the TARE button is pressed and then the baby is weighed in the blanket. This way, the user only obtains the weight of the child.
Mother-child function:
Like the TARE function, the mother-child function tares the weight of the parent to determine the weight of the child. As many children are much calmer in their mother's arms, this type of weighing is a good alternative to weighing on a baby or toddler scale.
BMI function:
Personal scales with an integrated height measuring rod as well as fitness scales often have a BMI (body mass index) display, where the scale automatically calculates the person's BMI by determining the body weight and manually entering the height. Apart from the BMI, many fitness scales also determine body water percentage, percentage of muscle, fat percentage and overall body composition.
Breast Milk Intake function:
With the help of this function, the amount of milk consumed by an infant can be determined very precisely. For this, the infant is weighed once before and once after breastfeeding. The baby scale automatically subtracts the weight measured first from the baby's weight after breastfeeding and shows the amount of milk that has been consumed on the LCD display.
Medical Scales in Special Designs
In addition to classic bathroom scales, scales in special designs are also frequently used in medicine. This is usually the case when the patient is partially or completely immobile.
The Chair Scale
This electronic personal scale looks like a wheelchair but is used to determine the weight of patients with impaired mobility. The patient is placed on the chair by the staff and the scale determines the weight quickly and precisely. The chair scale is often used in the clinic and in nursing, as the wheels make it suitable for mobile use across wards. Well-known chair scales are, for example, the seca 956 with a load capacity of 200 kg and included batteries or the KERN MCC with BMI function, armrests and a weighing range of 0-250 kg.
The Wheelchair Scale
With the wheelchair scale, the patient can be weighed on his or her own wheelchair. The ramps integrated into the scales are used to push the wheelchair onto the weighing surface, where the patient can be weighed without having to get up from the wheelchair. Alternatively, such wheelchair scales can also be used for severely obese patients for whom a normal bariatric scale would simply be too small.
Buy Digital and Mechanical Personal Scales at Praxisdienst at a Great Price
In this category we offer you a comprehensive selection of high-quality calibrated personal scales with a high accuracy from various manufacturers, such as seca, KERN or Soehnle, at favourable prices. Whether portable bathroom scale, column scale with stand, portable baby scale, bathroom scale with integrated height rod, fitness scale for the calculation of body weight, BMI, body fat and body composition, robust wheelchair scale with a particularly robust platform or obesity scale with a high capacity and easy-to read LCD display - in our online shop you are guaranteed to find the right scale for your needs.
Many of the high-precision electronic scales available from us are calibrated to Class III and ideal for use in practices and hospitals. Use our practical comparison function to find the scale you are looking for quickly and easily. Of course, our customer service is also available to answer any questions you may have about the digital and mechanical scales available in our shop.