A change in the eligibility requirements for certification from the International Certification Commission for Clinical Engineering and Biomedical Technology (ICC) will allow military personnel to take medical technology certification exams earlier.

At their June meetings, the United States Certification Commission (USCC) and ICC recognized the diploma from the U.S. military biomedical program as equivalent to an academic associate degree in biomedical technology for ICC’s eligibility purposes. The ICC offers certifications for certified biomedical equipment technician (CBET), certified radiology equipment specialist (CRES), and certified laboratory equipment specialist (CLES).

The change means military personnel that have successfully completed the U.S. military biomedical equipment technology program can sit for the exam for CBET with only 2 years of work experience.

Previously, military personnel were required to gain a civilian associate’s degree or have 4 years of work experience in the field in addition to completion of the military biomed program. The result was a disparity of 4 years before military personnel could take the exam versus a civilian.

After a detailed review of the program, the U.S. BMET Board of Examiners, which develops and administers the certification exams three times a year, found that the military program was very extensive, and comparable to an associate degree from accredited colleges and made the recommendation to make the change to the USCC and the ICC.

The next certification exam is scheduled to take place on November 6 in various locations. The deadline to register for the exam is Sept. 25. For more information on the certification program, visit www.aami.org/certification or call 703-253-8275.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has formally recognized the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) version of an international standard on medical electrical equipment.

FDA’s recognition of ANSI/AAMI ES60601-1:2005 — Medical electrical equipment, Part 1: General requirements for basic safety and essential performance and other collateral standards — comes as welcome news to the medical technology community.

The standard — which is the U.S. adoption of IEC 60601-1/Ed.3:2006 — contains required national deviations to comply with the National Electrical Safety Code, says Charles Sidebottom, director of corporate standards for Minneapolis-based Medtronic and secretary of IEC/Subcommittee 62A, which developed the IEC standard.

(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – August 4, 2010)  A free monograph released today by The Joint Commission, entitled “Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient-and Family-Centered Care: A Roadmap for Hospitals,” provides recommendations to inspire hospitals to address unique patient needs and comply with new standards for patient-centered communication.

In August 2008, The Joint Commission, with funding from The Commonwealth Fund, began an initiative to advance the issues of effective communication, cultural competence, and patient- and family-centered care in hospitals. The project was directed by Paul Schyve, M.D., senior vice president, The Joint Commission, and Amy Wilson-Stronks, M.P.P., project director, Division of Quality Measurement and Research, and principal investigator for The Joint Commission study Hospitals, Language, and Culture. The focus of the project was to develop accreditation standards for the hospital program and a monograph to help hospitals better meet patient needs.  The Joint Commission collaborated with the National Health Law Program to develop the Roadmap for Hospitals.

It seems like a normal situation. A doctor making rounds in a hospital intensive care unit (ICU) leans against a bedside table that has a telemetry transmitter. The doctor’s mobile phone rings, subsequently causing the telemetry transmitter to lose its signal and inadvertently interfere with the entire ICU telemetry system.

An updated technical information report (TIR) developed by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) offers guidance on how to prevent this and other instances of electromagnetic interference (EMI) of medical devices and systems. The report, ANSI/AAMI TIR18: 2010, Guidance on electromagnetic compatibility of medical devices in healthcare facilities, includes a template for a wireless and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) policy. It also offers recommendations on ad-hoc testing of devices to estimate their immunity to EMI.

The TIR is primarily geared toward clinical and biomedical engineers to help them assess the electromagnetic environment in their facility and implement actions that minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems. The new edition also has been rearranged to make it easier for non-engineers to find and understand recommendations.

“We are also trying to reach the hospital administrators because they make all the decisions on resources, and it is important that resources be allocated to this activity,” says Jeffrey Silberberg, a senior electronics engineer for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and a member of the AAMI Electromagnetic Compatibility Committee, which drafted the TIR.

The updated TIR contains new information on development of a wireless/EMC policy for a healthcare facility. A model policy will help to mitigate risks associated with medical device EMI and to address the use of radio frequency (RF) wireless technology, according to the TIR.

The model EMC and RF wireless policy is organized into six sections in the TIR: purpose, applicability, responsibilities, abbreviations and definitions, EMI mitigation and EMC management, and references.

A policy tailored for a specific institution should include examples of the problems that could arise from medical device EMI and RF wireless and why they are important, according to the TIR.

Visit AAMI online for pricing and order information

Here is a quick video showing the AAMI 2010 Conference.

AAMI 2010 Expo Highlights from CTI Productions on Vimeo.

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation’s (AAMI) most comprehensive collection of clinical engineering publications has been updated to include new IT, career, and imaging related tools and resources.

The 2010 edition of the Clinical Engineering Collection CD features hundreds of articles and publications all on one convenient, searchable and easy-to-use CD. It’s designed expressly for clinical engineers, biomedical equipment technicians (BMET), and other medical technology professionals.   

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has released an updated technical information report (TIR) this month that offers guidance on developing sterilization cycles for ethylene oxide (EO) sterilization.

TIR15 contains vital information on how to create a safe and effective sterilization cycle for EO, including details on conditioning and flammability curves to ensure safety. The document is intended primarily for sterilization personnel who are involved in sterilization cycles for EO.

“The TIR gives guidance related to the physical aspects of EO rather than the microbiological ones,” says Gerry O’Dell, president of Gerry O’Dell Consulting and co-chair of AAMI’s Industrial Ethylene Oxide Sterilization Working Group, which developed the document.

Becoming a Biomedical Equipment Technician from AAMI on Vimeo.

What do biomedical equipment technicians (BMETs) do? How do BMETs fit into the healthcare team? And how does one enter the field? These questions and more are addressed in this brief video, featuring members of AAMI's Technology Management Council (TMC).