36 CFR Part 1195 Proposed Accessibility Standards for Medical Diagnostic Equipment NPRM - Preamble

Head and Back Support (M301.3.3 and M302.3.3)

Where diagnostic equipment used by patients in a supine, prone, or side-lying position, and diagnostic equipment used by patients in a seated position can be adjusted to reclined positions, M301.3.3 and M302.3.3 would require head and back support to be provided throughout the entire range of the incline. This is consistent with ANSI/AAMI HE75 which recommends that the “support surface needs to be adjustable or have adjustable support features (e.g., for the head, neck, back, lumbar region, leg, knee, and foot, as appropriate) to support patients in various postures and body positions in a manner that optimizes their comfort.” See ANSI/AAMI HE 75, section 16.4.7 (h). Although not required by the proposed standards, examination tables that can be adjusted to a sitting position and then reclined to a horizontal position may be easier for patients with disabilities to transfer onto and off of than examination tables that are horizontal only.