Martin maxium & maxium Beamer Operating Instructions
V 2.0
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The gas flow is automatically activated together with the HF current. In technical terms, the HF
generator activates the maxium Beamer via the connecting cable (which also serves for power
supply to the maxium Beamer).
In case you prefer to use another type of argon beamer – say, Martin’s MB 181 or a third-party
product –, you have two options of connecting the Beamer to the maxium HF generator:
•
Using the CAN bus interface cable. This allows control signal transmission in both directions,
so the Beamer will be automatically activated in the correct operating mode whenever you acti-
vate the HF unit. Both units recognize this connection automatically. Of course, this presup-
poses that the MB 181 is equipped with current software supporting its operation in conjunction
with the maxium because otherwise the pushbuttons provided on the MABS handle (which are
used for argon flow activation) would be inoperable.
•
Using a footswitch signal cable. The activation signals triggered by a footswitch connected to
the MB 181 are passed on to the footswitch socket of the connected HF surgical unit through a
control cable (so-called master-slave operation). In this arrangement, the system can only be
activated with the footswitch, while the handle’s finger switches (pushbuttons) can only be used
to activate the HF unit, not the Argon Beamer.
If you wish to use an argon beamer other than the maxium Beamer, you must first select/enable it
via the maxium’s “Setup” menu item.
10.10.2 Argon
Gas
The chemical element argon (atomic number 18) is an inert or noble gas that is present in the am-
bient air in a concentration of 0.93%. It is extracted from air by liquefaction. Due to its inertness,
argon by itself does not undergo chemical reactions, which means that, while odorless, it is neither
ignitable nor aggressive nor poisonous. This prevents the formation of argon-based disintegration
products in the argon beam plasma. Moreover, its release into the ambient air (from which it has
been extracted) poses no environmental problems at all.
Although all noble gases can basically be used for beamer operation, the maxium Beamer has
been designed for operation with argon because this inert gas is not only by far the cheapest avail-
able, but the one most readily accessible as well. Martin recommends using “quality 4.8” argon
characterized by a purity of more than 99.998%. Although such a high degree of purity is not really
required for maxium Beamer operation, only such high-purity gases – which are primarily used in
chemical analytical procedures – can be obtained in cylinders that are not part of the usual produc-
tion and distribution cycle (which includes cylinders used in the manufacturing and craft sectors,
which may be heavily contaminated). While it is possible to use argon gas of a quality level higher
than 4.8, this would not bring any additional application advantages.
Due to its inertness, and unlike carbon dioxide (which is also used for medical-technical purposes),
argon gas has no adverse influence on the lung’s gas exchange processes. Nonetheless, if pre-
sent in very high concentrations, argon can displace the air needed for breathing. No such concen-
tration can occur, however, if the room is aerated in normal ways and the maxium Beamer is used
as intended, so suffocation can be ruled out under normal operating conditions. But one should
bear in mind that argon does constitute a potential danger if it escapes in poorly ventilated places
or is released in pits or cavities. Since argon is heavier than air, it can accumulate on the floor if
aeration is insufficient.
