Short Wave Diathermy (SWD) equipment is used in physiotherapy and applied therapeutically using radio frequency (RF) radiation of 27.12 MHz. This article presents the results of a survey related to SWD, showing data about the equipment, conditions of use, visual inspection and analysis of accompanying documents, having as reference the requirements of the Brazilian standards NBR IEC 601-1 and NBR IEC 601-2-3. Electrical safety tests were also carried out for the equipment and the installation. The results showed that manufacturers do not completely follow the standards and there is a lack of knowledge of these standards by the physiotherapists. Electrical safety tests presented measured values of equipment leakage current within the limits of the standards, but installation presented fails. One can conclude that it is necessary a greater awareness by manufacturers and professionals regarding the standards including electrical safety in order to assure the correct use of SWD equipment.
Short wave diathermy; biomedical equipment evaluation; electrical safety
