What do the B, BF and CF symbols on medical equipment mean?

Medical electrical equipment carries a symbol for how well the part that touches the patient (the applied part) is protected against electric shock. Type B shows a figure of a person. Type BF shows the figure inside a box, meaning the applied part is electrically floating. Type CF shows a heart inside a box, meaning it is safe for direct connection to the heart. The symbols come from the medical equipment standard (IEC 60601, adopted in Australia as AS/NZS 3200) and are printed on the rating label and in the manual.

They matter for classifying rooms. Equipment with Type B or BF applied parts points to a body-protected area; equipment with Type CF applied parts, which can connect to the heart, points to a cardiac-protected area. AS/NZS 3003 points practices to AS/NZS 2500, the standard on the safe use of medical electrical equipment in health care, for making the call. A dental chair, an ECG, an ultrasound probe and a laser are body-protected territory; cardiac catheters are not.

When you list each room’s mains-powered equipment for the classification record, note the symbol next to each item. It is the quickest way to show how the classification was reached, and it is the one thing on the box a practice manager can check without an electrician.