Why performance test?

Medical devices are often high risk instruments, which are used to detect, diagnose, and provide treatment to patients. Performance testing of these devices ensures devices are functioning properly and accurately. In healthcare organisations, this is crucial in improving overall patient safety. Clinicians with high accuracy medical measurements ensure correct diagnoses through patient monitoring and an overall better delivery of treatment. Performance measurements also ensure the devices meet manufacturer specifications/international standards. Moreover, with healthcare technology management growing, it’s important that these results are fully traceable.

Accuracy of all devices tends to stray over a period of time but regular testing ensures measurements fall within acceptable limits. Rudimentary inaccurate measurements can lead to incorrect diagnoses.

Patient monitors are a prime example of why high accuracy is required. Besides alerting clinicians to vital sign values, modern patient monitors actually provide direct physiological input data to control connected life support devices. Furthermore, central patient monitoring systems mean that one clinician may be monitoring many critical care patients at once.