PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT – ISSUE NO. 46

This past week one of our real time stories focused on simulated-use testing. When developing devices for use on humans, it is always a good idea to know what to expect, good and bad. Obviously, this is the point of much of the research and testing which goes into medical device product development. As the phrase implies, simulated-use testing attempts to mimic as close as possible the conditions that a surgical instrument will be used in, in actual clinical use. For a while, Healthmark has been focused on products that simulate the cleaning challenge of surgical instruments. The reason for simulation is because it is often not possible, or advisable to test instruments that have actually been used on patients. Simulated testing provides safe and reliable feedback to performance. Practice makes perfect (hopefully) in everything, including instrument reprocessing.