What is performance testing?

Performance testing is implemented to ensure medical devices perform safely, reliably and accurately. The accuracy of a medical device is tested by comparative analysis with standard measurements where the accuracies are known. Regular performance testing is essential for compliance and is required by both manufacturers and internationally recognised standards.

Performance analysers or simulators are often used to provide the test and measurements standard for testing medical devices e.g., a patient simulator will accurately mimic many physiological parameters to test a patient monitor. Performance analysers provide a simple solution to preventative maintenance schedules as they are quite often fully automated. Asset management for the performance measurements of medical devices is extensive, particularly as the number of medical devices increases.