What types of readouts are available with medical scales that can be used in institutions and medical facilities?

Medical scales come in a huge range of different styles. There are some that are traditional mechanical styles that allows the user or a staff member to manually move weights across a beam. When the scale balances the two weights, a heavier lower weight and a lighter upper weight are added together. Most mechanical scales have the option of reading in either metric or standard systems. These scales also can be read from both sides of the scale, which makes it easy for staff and patients alike.

You may also want to consider a digital readout model.  This is a LED display that is positioned at a convenient level to be easily read. It can be on the column on mechanical scales or it can be one the platform on a floor type. It is important to choose a LED display and background that provides enough contrast for easy and accurate reading of the information.

Mechanical style medical scales are a good option for many uses. These are very easy to read but may not be as accurate as they typically show only whole units of weight and not fractions. You would be able to weigh to the nearest pound or kilogram or approximate for ½ the distance for greater accuracy.

Can medical scales be use in the home and what would be the advantage over the commercial models available?

Medical scales, both mechanical and digital, are excellent for home use. This can be a very important consideration if you need accurate weight measurements that are to the nearest fraction provided by the readability of the scale. The heavier design and increased accuracy of these models over commercially available scales is the one big advantage. In addition many of the scales for home use cannot be calibrated or are very limited in their calibration which may cause increased inaccuracies in weight measurements over time.

Another major benefit to the medical models is that some come equipped with either the option to print out the information as well as an automatic option to store recordings right in the system. This allows the user to simply recall his or her last weight. For multiple users the system can be customized to store data separately, making it easy to see success in weight loss or weight gain efforts.

Medical options for home use can also be used to provide immediate BMI (Body Mass Index) information. With these types of models the individual keys in his or her height which is then stored in the system. Upon weighing a keypad control allows you to switch to instantly provide your current BMI and keep record of all changes.

How difficult is it to use mechanical scales when compared to digital scales that automatically provide the weight?

After you have learned how to correctly use the traditional models they are very simple and highly accurate. However, they do take a few minutes to use when compared to digital readout models. It is important to step up on the platform and allow the platform to completely stop moving before moving the weights. Weights need to be moved slowly when in the approximate weight range to get the most accurate reading.

It is also important to move the lower, heavy weight first and then move the lighter, top weight. Remembering to return both weights back to the zero notch on the beam is another additional step but this takes just a second.