Difference between CF & BF

All high frequency surgical units are generally available in two connection systems

1. Capacitance Ground of Patient Plate / Type BF or Body Floating
2. Floating Patient Plate / Type CF or Cardiac Floating

The advantage of BF Type is that the feed line from Patient Plate to the patient is grounded at a high frequency via a capacitor and the risk of burns is reduced in BF type. But there is a small disadvantage of low‐frequency leakage current which may flow through capacitor when the circuit is incomplete i.e. when Patient Plate is connected to machine but not in contact with the patient and cutting /coagulation is attempted, there can be a small presence of HF power at the active handle end. But the power output will be really low and will not be sufficient for any effective cutting / coagulation.

If the Patient Plate is Floating type / CF type (like most US products), the low‐frequency leakage currents can be kept very easily below the limit value but in CF Type the risk of burns is increased since the line from the Patient Plate is about half the frequency voltage of the generator. CF is mainly preferred for Cardiac procedure with Pacemaker / active implants.

As per Indian Electrical Standards, we operate on Electrical supply with Ground Referencing which is considered more safe. Hence our surgical diathermy units like ARC are all type BF / Body Floating as it is more safe for patients in Indian operating conditions.

There are two types of patient plates. Our ARC & SPARK surgical diathermy units accept both Split and Single Pad Patient Plates. The internal circuitry will detect the type of patient plate connected and work automatically.

We supply reusable single type patient plates which are much costlier than disposable patient plates so as to keep the running cost of the equipment affordable for the average Indian hospital and eventually pass on the benefit to the patients. This method is safe.

However, for obtaining even more higher safety and lower infection control, it’s suggested to use disposable split pad patient plates as it will ensure power output only if there is sufficient contact area with the patient.

The biggest disadvantage of disposable split patient plates is that in Indian conditions, there is always a tendency of reusing the disposable patient plate which can directly lead to high frequency burns