For hospitals, doctors’ offices and other medical facilities, there’s no substitution for medical casters. They are undriven wheels in a mountable housing. Medical casters, however, are designed specifically for medical workspaces such as these. If you’re planning to buy medical casters, you should look for the following features.
#1) Ball Bearings
You should look for ball bearings when choosing medical casters. Medical casters are commonly used on hospital beds and medical equipment. With ball bearings, you’ll be able to roll the objects on which they are mounted more easily.
#2) Low Profile
Some medical casters have a lower profile than others. Low-profile medical casters are ideal for small spaces. They are shorter than other types of medical casters. If your medical workspace has low ceilings, you may want to choose low-profile casters.
#3) Swivel Joint
A swivel joint is a useful feature for medical casters. It allows the medical casters to turn in all directions. All casters, including medical casters, fall under one of two categories: rigid or swivel. Rigid casters can only roll forward and backward. Swivel casters, on the other hand, can roll in 360 degrees.
#4) Directional Lock
In addition to a swivel joint, you may want to choose medical casters with a directional lock. A directional lock is a feature that “locks” the caster’s swivel joint. It will essentially turn a swivel caster into a rigid caster — at least temporarily. You can engage the directional lock to restrict a swivel medical caster to only rolling forward and backward.
#5) Protective Finish
You should look for a protective finish when choosing medical casters. Chrome-plated medical casters are a popular choice among medical businesses. As the name suggests, they feature a chrome finish. The outer layer of chrome acts as a barrier against environmental contaminants.
#6) Easy to Mount
Don’t overlook the mounting requirements when choosing medical casters. After buying medical casters, you’ll have to mount them on the bottom of the objects with which you intend to use them. Fortunately, both stem- and plate-mounted medical casters are a breeze to mount.
Stem-mounted medical casters feature a treaded stem. You can mount them by placing the stem in a threaded hole on the bottom of the object. Plate-mounted medical casters feature a flat rectangular- or square-shaped plate. You can mount them by positioning the plate on the bottom of the object and then securing it with a set of threaded fasteners.
