A brake system for a medical device, such as a cot, stretcher, bed, wheeled chair, or other medical device, includes a pin and toothed wheel arrangement wherein the selective insertion of a pin between teeth on the toothed wheel brakes the system, while the removal of the pin from between the teeth unbrakes the system. Multiple pins may be used with a single toothed wheel wherein the pins are offset from each other relative to the teeth so that, when one pin is inserted between teeth, the other pin is at least partially blocked from being inserted between the teeth. This effectively increases the resolution of the toothed wheel. The toothed wheel may be axially spaced from wheel(s) that roll on the ground. When so spaced, the toothed wheel, and all of the braking components associated therewith, may be enclosed within a housing separate from the rolling wheel(s).
