Standards · Standard or regulation
IEC 61010-1
Safety requirements for electrical equipment for measurement, control and laboratory use
In plain words
What it covers.
The safety standard for laboratory and test equipment that is not connected to patients, such as centrifuges, analysers and many test instruments. It protects users from shock, fire, heat, moving parts and other hazards. Laboratory devices like blood gas analysers and centrifuges, and the test equipment engineers use, are often built to it.
Who uses it: Laboratory equipment makers, lab managers and engineers selecting and servicing lab and test equipment.
A summary written by BMEssentia for learning, not the text of the standard. Always work from the current official edition and the manufacturer's instructions.
It covers
- Protection against electric shock
- Mechanical hazards
- Fire and heat
- Measurement categories for test instruments
- Labelling and documentation
Key points
What engineers need to know.
- It applies to equipment used by operators, not equipment with applied parts on patients.
- Test instruments are rated by measurement category (CAT II, III, IV) for the circuits they can measure.
- Centrifuge lids must stay locked while the rotor is turning.
- Lab equipment near patients may need extra assessment under IEC 60601-1.
- Particular parts cover items such as centrifuges (IEC 61010-2-020).
- Using a multimeter on a circuit above its category can cause an arc flash.
Devices
Devices it applies to.
Each device in the Medical City Device Lab, with its Device Library course on the Platform.
Medical City
Where you practise it.
- S1-M012 and S1-M065 blood gas analyser
- Tech Detective multimeter and oscilloscope measurements
- Device lab centrifuge