TechNation Magazine March 2023

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CONTENTS

P.12 SPOTLIGHT

p.12 Department of the Month: The Morton Hospital Clinical Engineering Department

p.14 A Tribute to Bill Hascup

p.18 Association of the Month: The Baltimore Medical Engineers and Technicians Society (BMETS)

p.20 Professional of the Month: Tod Cook

p.23 Next Gen HTM: Greg Czajka

P.24 INDUSTRY UPDATES

p.24 News & Notes

p.31 Welcome to TechNation

p.32 AAMI Update

p.35 Ribbon Cutting: A&G Biomedical

p.36 ECRI Update

48

54

P.40 THE BENCH

p.40 Biomed 101

p.43 Tools of the Trade

p.45 Webinar Wednesday

p.47 TechNation Travel Tech

P.48 ROUNDTABLE

p.48 Cybersecuirty

P.54 COVER STORY

p.54 Data Analytics: How to Improve Work Flow & Save Money

P.58 EXPERT ADVICE

p.58 Career Center

p.60 [Sponsored Content] 20/20 Imaging Insights: Testing Your Ultrasound IQ

p.62 Right to Repair

PUBLISHER John M. Krieg

VICE PRESIDENT Kristin Leavoy

VICE PRESIDENT Jayme McKelvey OF SALES

ACCOUNT Megan Cabot

EXECUTIVES Emily Hise

ART DEPARTMENT Karlee Gower

Taylor Hayes

Kameryn Johnson

EDITORIAL John Wallace

CONTRIBUTORS Roger Bowles

K. Richard Douglas

Jim Fedele

Joie Marhefka

Kevin O’Reilly

Connor Walsh

David Witt

Steven J. Yelton

DIGITAL SERVICES Cindy Galindo

Kennedy Krieg

EVENTS Kristin Leavoy

WEBINARS Linda Hasluem

HTMJOBS.COM

ACCOUNTING

CIRCULATION

Kristen Register

Sydney Krieg

Diane Costea

Joanna Manjarrez

EDITORIAL BOARD

Rob Bundick, Director HTM & Biomedical Engineering, ProHealth Care

Carol Davis-Smith, CCE, FACCE, AAMIF, Owner/ President of Carol Davis-Smith & Associates, LLC

Jim Fedele, CBET, Senior Director of Clinical Engineering, UPMC

Bryant Hawkins Sr., Site Manager, Children’s Hospital of New Orleans

Benjamin Scoggin, MBA, MMCi, Director, Clinical Engineering | Biomedical Operations, Equipment

Distribution, Clinical IT, DHTS, Duke Health Technology Solutions

Allison Woollford, Biomedical Equipment Specialist at Duke University Health System

SPOTLIGHT

DEPARTMENT OF THE MONTH

The Morton Hospital Clinical Engineering Department

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

Th ere are many American cities with counterparts in England from which they have derived their names. Taunton, Massachusetts is one of them. First organized in 1639, the city was named after Taunton, England. The American city’s objection to English taxation was one of the precursors to the Revolutionary War.

Modern day Taunton is a much different place, and while people are still not happy with taxes, they are happy with the local health care options. One of those health care providers is Morton Hospital; a member of the Steward Health Care System. The hospital has been recognized with a “Best Place to Work” award.

Morton Hospital in Taunton is a 144-bed acute care community hospital that serves the residents of southeastern Massachusetts. The hospital’s medical equipment is managed by its two-member clinical engineering team. They get assistance from regional management when needed.

“Morton Hospital is an acute care community hospital that is one of 30-plus U.S. hospitals in the Steward Health Care network. The clinical engineering department at Morton Hospital is a two-person shop with a regional and national director that assist as needed. The in-house shop is led by Christopher Collins, who has been in the field since 2005. Chris has been working at Morton Hospital for seven years, but has worked within this larger network of hospitals for 16 years,” says Cal Knowles, regional director of clinical engineering for Steward Healthcare’s Northeast region.

He says that Berti Blain is the other biomedical

technician who works alongside Collins.

“Berti is a newer technician who recently graduated with his biomedical technology degree in 2021. Berti started at Morton Hospital in April of 2022 but previously interned at one of our sister hospitals in the region. The two technicians support 2,058 pieces of equipment throughout the main campus and offsites,” Knowles says.

The offsites include an outpatient rehabilitation and physical therapy center, audiology, a women’s health center, a sleep lab and a primary care center.

Knowles says that the clinical engineering department maintains all the medical equipment within the facility, primarily handles all the repair and maintenance on the biomedical pieces and will take first-look on other more advanced equipment, such as diagnostic imaging equipment, that they have under contract with third parties. In doing so, the technicians are sometimes able to maintain a better uptime for the department instead of having to wait to have the third party come in for a small issue on a device.

“Although the technicians at Morton Hospital work directly for the hospital, Steward Health Care, as a whole, has contracted out a majority of the biomedical services and diagnostic imaging services to a third-party vendor. This vendor is responsible for the preventive maintenance and repair of diagnostic imaging. They provide the hospital employees at Morton with the parts required for preventive maintenance and repairs of the other medical equipment within the Morton Hospital umbrella, but the actual repair and maintenance of these items is done by our in-house technicians, Chris and Berti,” Knowles says.

SMALL DEPARTMENT WITH BIG RESULTS

The two-man shop has taken on several projects, including high-tech upgrades and capital purchase insights.

“We have had a few projects in recent years that include the implementation of SIS, which is an anesthesia electronic

medical record system. The technicians worked with IT to get the new system set up and installed for use with our anesthesia machines. By installing a system like this, the vital signs of the patient that show on the patient monitor of the anesthesia machine now go straight into an electronic medical record for device integration. There is no longer a potential for human error and documentation is precisely at the correct time interval,” Knowles says.

Recently, Morton Hospital upgraded two of its telemetry floors, which required ample planning and implementation to get the systems installed without impacting patient care. The patient monitoring systems, as well as complete wireless infrastructure that the patient monitoring system relies on, that were previously installed, were end of life.

“By installing this new monitoring system, we ensured new cabling was pulled for the new wireless network. We also made sure that the new monitoring system integrated with the nursing phones on the floor. By doing this, the nursing group can see all red alarms for urgent response on their devices,” Knowles says.

The hospital recently opened a comprehensive addiction program (MORCAP) within the hospital.

“Chris and Berti were essential to making sure the proper equipment was purchased and installed for this project. Part of this process was performing an incoming inspection and loading all new equipment into the CMMS to start its documentation life cycle,” Knowles says.

He says that in the endoscopy department, a procedure documentation software was installed. This required configuration of the endoscopy equipment from the technicians to get the system operating as intended.

Morton Hospital also went through a pump conversion, which involved swapping out all of the infusion pumps with a newer model from a different manufacturer.

“This took a lot of coordination and configuration to get these pumps set up and configured to connect to our network wirelessly,” Knowles says.

The two-person team didn’t stop with those projects.

“The technicians at Morton Hospital needed to set up a temporary telemetry system during COVID to help care for the

influx of patients. An unused department was outfitted with a fully functional telemetry system that supported this new temporary 20-bed unit. The technicians worked to make sure all required equipment was set up and installed, which also included outfitting each room with oxygen flowmeters and suction regulators,” Knowles says.

The department also converted anesthesia machines by re-pinning connections to the monitors which allowed these anesthesia machines to be utilized as ventilators and relay that information to the patient monitor and patient file.

“In an effort to upgrade a UPS for nuclear medicine, an ILSM was created to allow construction to bore through walls to run conduit so we could connect new UPS to our nuclear medicine camera. This was not part of the initial scope, and the biomed technicians were integral in pausing the project to bring the facility and infection control leads into the space, so that they could assess and issue the correct documentation to move forward,” Knowles says.

He says that the technicians were also problem solvers by not replacing the UPS with a complete like-model. They researched and found that they could get a bit more powerful UPS to support the current nuclear medicine camera but this new UPS could also support a newer nuclear medicine camera. This was integral to the process as it will help save money in a few years when this device is slated for replacement.

Despite being a two-person department, the biomeds at Morton Hospital go above and beyond.

“Besides the day-to-day work, the biomed technicians are also involved in committees such as the EOC and fall committee. They also get involved with nursing education when new equipment comes in to be sure staff knows how to properly use the equipment. They work with the departments on scoping out new initiatives and will get quotes from the manufacturers. They truly are the go-to department at the hospital to help wherever needed,” Knowles says.

With help from leadership, the biomed team at Morton keeps on top of all equipment successfully.

Blain and Collins use a meter to check a board in the biomed shop.

FBS LEADER LEAVES LASTING LEGACY

A Tribute to Bill Hascup

BY JOHN WALLACE

Two decades after accepting his first biomedical equipment job, Bill Hascup is a BMET III with TRIMEDX in the Sunshine State. While his career continues, Hascup recently retired from the Florida Biomedical Society Board of Directors.

Fellow board member John Alvenus, CBET, applauds Hascup’s work with FBS.

“I give Bill most of the credit for making FBS what it is today. ‘The best biomed trade show.’ Bill and Jim Bowles came on to the board about 20 years ago and had the foresight to bring the show to Orlando, specifically to Disney, to make it family oriented,” Alvenus said. “Every year, Bill tries to make it a little better, and has succeeded. The FBS symposium formula has been refined over the years and has become very successful. The biomeds that attend the FBS symposium are allowed to attend for free. This includes all of the educational tracks as well as the expo hall. Not to mention all the giveaways and prizes for the biomeds.”

“I cannot think of another induvial who has provided more to the biomeds anywhere,” he added.

Board Member Fred McMurtrie echoes those sentiments.

“Bill has been a true champion for the HTM community. He works tirelessly to promote our profession and our society. Bill, as our leader, has laid the groundwork for one of the best organized HTM meetings in the country. Which affords the biomeds in our state to have top-rate educational and networking opportunities,” McMurtrie said. “He is a dynamo and, to put it bluntly, he is Mr. FBS.”

MD Publishing President and Founder John Krieg described the indispensable roles Hascup played in the successful MD Expo and FBS relationship that continues to this day. FBS is supporting the upcoming 2023 MD Expo (MDExpoShow.com) set for Orlando in October.

“Bill Hascup has been a dear friend and invaluable colleague from the onset of the MD Expo and FBS relationship. From the very beginning back in 2008, when we first

took MD Expo on the road to Orlando, Bill was our main point of contact and helped forge the path of our hugely successful partnership,” Krieg said. “From helping establish goals and expectations, assisting with vendor relations, consulting on speakers and education, Bill and the FBS board have paved the way to form a true win-win situation. It’s evident in the success of the MD Expo while in Florida, as well as the incredible job FBS does with their annual conference.”

Stepping down was not an easy decision for Hascup. It may be even more difficult for the biomed community. Hascup’s impact on the growth of FBS cannot be denied. His gregarious personality, quick smile and innate ability to make a complete stranger into a new friend are just a few of the qualities that seamlessly fueled his success.

USOC’s Amy Hobbs shared her insights regarding Hascup’s personality and his work with FBS.

“After a couple of years into knowing Bill, we were at an FBS meeting outside by the pool. Bill being Bill, he started up a conversation with a gentleman who had his daughter with him. It ended up being his daughter’s birthday. Bill took out a Disney gift card from his pocket and handed it to the little girl,” Hobbs said. “She was so excited and gave him a great big hug. Over the years I have seen the kindness he gives to so many people and the joy it brings to their faces.”

“Bill has been the foremost person for FBS for as long as I can remember,” Hobbs said. “They have built a strong and successful team out in Florida. Bill does everything he can to make sure everyone has a great time, gets the best education and ensures everything runs as scheduled. Everyone that knows FBS knows Bill. Whether you are a vendor, biomed, student or family member there to support, Bill will get to know you. That charisma he brings everywhere he goes will be missed every year.”

He never wanted to be the center of attention, according to more than one colleague. He always made everyone feel comfortable and in doing so made countless friends while also powering FBS’s growth.

In his own words, Hascup said his 18 years on the FBS board have been “so much fun.” His legacy is growing the annual symposium from 25 companies to more than 100

exhibitors and moving the event from Altamont Springs to Disney. His tenure on the board ends with “FBS in great financial shape,” he added.

“It’s been so much fun. It’s been a great travel,” Hascup explained in a phone interview. “Hopefully, my legacy means I did a lot for FBS and the members.”

Regarding his legacy, Hobbs said “That is a hard question since Bill isn’t done in the HTM world yet. I know when he leaves there will be a gap that definitely won’t be easily fulfilled.”

AIV Inc. Vice President of Sales Jeff Taltavull shared his thoughts on Hascup’s legacy.

“Bill’s biggest legacy will always be the annual symposium,” Taltavull said. “He has helped coordinate that for as long as I have known him, and that’s going back close to 20 years. It was always the best regional biomed show as far back as I remember. There was always a huge amount of attendance, and lots of interaction between the attendees and vendors. Multiple events that got the groups together. Bill also did his best to accommodate the vendors and realized early on that those relationships would always be a key supporting role in the future of the FBS.”

Hascup says he will no longer attend industry meetings, including FBS symposiums, MD Expos and AAMI conferences. “I just have to stop cold turkey. I can’t just hang around forever,” Hascup said. He said it is time for the next chapter and some “Bill time.”

“There are some young people who are going to do a great job at FBS. There will be some learning steps, but they will be fine,” he said. “It is just time. I need to step away and let FBS be FBS.”

Hascup enjoyed his final FBS symposium – that included a small birthday celebration in his honor.

“I think I went out with a bang and now it is Bill time,” he said. “Bill time” can be defined as cruises and spending time with family.

“It has been a great pleasure to work with Bill for the last two decades and I am proud to call him my friend,” Taltavull said. “We have laughed and cried and experienced many of life’s joys together. As he nears his retirement and steps back from some of his roles, I wish him nothing but peace and happiness – you earned it. Enjoy your cruises and no need for your bodyguard anymore. Best wishes my friend.”

The Baltimore Medical Engineers and Technicians Society (BMETS)

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

h e city of Baltimore was incorporated in 1796 and has a significant place in American history. Fort McHenry, located just three miles southeast of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, is the birthplace of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

T ASSOCIATION OF THE MONTH

The Inner Harbor is home to the historic USS Constellation, a tall ship constructed in 1854 and the last all-sail warship constructed by the U.S. Navy. It is the last Civil War era ship still afloat.

With history and Baltimore in mind, the region’s biomed society embraces both.

The Baltimore Medical Engineers and Technicians Society (BMETS) has been in existence for 39 years. The group’s officers include President Mike Milan, Vice President Jon Sears, Treasurer Walter Scowden and Secretary Kayla Dawson.

Sears says that on November 3, 1983, an organizing committee was formed to set the foundation of BMETS. Those early members discussed the format of meetings, the frequency of meetings, an appropriate level for dues, classes of membership, length of term that officers should serve and committee chair selections.

“On January 5, 1984, the board met again and approved the group’s bylaws and other business. Their first meeting was held May 10, 1984,” he says.

Sears says that BMETS began as a group of biomedical technicians and engineers from local hospitals who wanted to have a forum to share their ideas and thoughts on biomedical technology and advancements.

The group’s original mission statement declared that the organization was “established to promote

the principles of quality patient care through the safe and effective operation of biomedical instrumentation. We provide a medium for the interchange of ideas and the dissemination of information among BMETS members.”

BMETS is also helping the newest members of the profession with their training.

“We have a scholarship program in association with Howard County Community College, which offers a biomedical technician two-year program. We have tried to reach the biomedical engineering program at Johns Hopkins and have had some students come by, but not very often,” Sears says.

MAY COORDINATED EVENT

The group has organized meetings and get-togethers throughout the year to keep everyone connected.

“We do not have an annual conference meeting. We meet in September for our annual ‘September Kick-Off Meeting,’ in which we invite our members and sponsoring vendors to gather and talk; maybe share some of their summer fun stories,” Sears says.

He says that the organization has its monthly meetings in October, November, January, February, March and April, in which they have a sponsoring vendor who will have a table display set up.

“From 6-7, we have mixer time, at 7 p.m. we start a dinner, 7:30 is BMETS business, then between 7:40 p.m.- 8 p.m., the vendor presentation occurs for one-hour and then we adjourn,” Sears adds.

At times, the group will use Facebook Live to stream meetings.

“In May, we have our MayBash end-of-year event. This is a BMETS-sponsored event with no vendor presentations. This event is more of a ‘thank you’ to our members and sponsors for the past year and ‘don’t forget about us over the summer,’ ” Sears says.

He says that the MayBash has included a crab feast (Maryland thing), baseball game and bowling events.

“We present ideas to the members and see who gets the most votes. We have thought in the past about a conference, but with only skipping the month of December for the holidays, we have felt like our turnout may not be up to the level of a conference. And we are off for June, July and August,” Sears says.

“[For] our MayBash this year, we are working with the MD Expo HTM Mixer event to have it during the event on May 11. We are hoping that this event will help bring in new members to BMETS. We have had HTM professionals from New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia show up at a meeting, and we would like to see them drop in more often, and hoping that the MayBash held at the Mixer will allow us to reach out to those seeking a place to gather with fellow HTMs,” Sears says.  Sears says that he is hoping to have some of the original founding members of the organization at the HTM Mixer.

The HTM Mixer will run May 11-12, 2023. The event location will be the Turf Valley Resort, located in Ellicott City, in Central Maryland. Visit the HTM Mixer website for more information at HTMmixer.com.

One of the benefits that biomed societies and associations offer to the profession is to act as a conduit to bring new members into the field. With the exodus of baby-boom generation HTM professionals, this is an important contribution to sustaining the numbers of biomeds needed for appropriate staffing levels.

BMETS, as an organization, has taken proactive steps to contribute towards attracting new members to the ranks.

“We have an active mailing list and ask that our fellow members reach out to their peers and ask them to come out and see what we’re about. We are working on sending out postcard fliers to promote BMETS and the upcoming MayBash/MDExpo Mixer event. We offer free

membership to HTM students,” Sears says.

The organization also maintains a website that includes useful information for biomeds in the region. The website is bmets.org.

“To help get our message out to members, and to hopefully reach new members, we offer job postings for our local hospitals and service providers on those pages. As for getting members to step up into positions on the board, that is a struggle I will not lie. But as we network with our members, we find that family and time is a main concern for them. How to change that one; we are always open to ideas,” Sears says.

The decades-long history of BMETS is a testament to its value to HTM professionals in the region. The activities keep the biomed community together and in touch.

In addition to the website, BMETS maintains social media pages with updated information. They are: Facebook: bit.ly/3R92lm0 and Twitter: @WebMast69987988.

PROFESSIONAL OF THE MONTH Tod Cook, CBET

Hats Off to This HTM Manager

BY K. RICHARD DOUGLAS

he Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania is made up of two counties; Lehigh and Northampton. The region includes the cities of Bethlehem, Easton and Allentown. Known as “The Valley,” it sits on the border with New Jersey and is a short drive from New York City and Philadelphia.

The region is also known for good health care. One of the local health care systems is the Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN); comprised of 13 hospital campuses and several other facilities.

Tod Cook is a technical service manager in the clinical engineering department for the system. Last month was Cook’s 33rd year with the system.

His entry into the profession was a no-brainer, even at an early age.

“I was a senior in high school, had an interest in electronics and tinkering with things. Saw the occupation of biomedical equipment technician in a career guide and liked the fact it was a two-year associate degree,” Cook says.

He says that at the time, he had no idea what was in his future.

“I didn’t know anyone who was doing this type of work. At the time I was going to school, running my own grass service. I thought I would like working inside in a professional environment,” Cook says.

Cook completed the associate in biomedical equipment technology degree program at Penn State University Lehman campus in Dallas, Pennsylvania in 1989.

“I also completed a 10-week internship at Community

Medical Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania,” he says.

At Lehigh Valley Health Network, Cook started as an entry-level technician.

“I was promoted to a BMET II after about seven years’ experience, when job descriptions were changed. Obtained CBET (BMET III) in 2005. Advanced to become a supervisor in 2017. Promoted to a manager of biomedical services in 2019, overseeing three LVHN facilities. I’m one of five managers supporting our network,” Cook says.

OPENING HOSPITALS DURING A PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic provided an exceptional challenge to those in HTM. Along with clinical counterparts, there were demands on time, endurance and emotions on HTM professionals that will not be forgotten.

“Like many others in the HTM field have experienced, the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging. The CE team was here on-site everyday doing our jobs. It was very stressful. Making sure equipment stayed functional and available; prepping for a possible surge of patients,” Cook says. He says that he remembers in March of 2020, he was on-call.

“I received a call from a nursing supervisor; he was asking to have some PAPR units checked and additional devices gathered. I came on-site, checked the devices he had and started gathering other kits from throughout the facility. I spent about six hours that Saturday testing, repairing and putting complete PAPR kits together,” Cook remembers.

He says that he didn’t know what was coming their way and it was several days later when they found out.

“Late 2020/early 2021, the CE team here helped coordinate and move anesthesia machines from one facility OR to another campus. We then turned a 10-bed

recovery unit into a 10-bed COVID-19 ICU isolation area. The plan was, if needed, to use the ventilators on the anesthesia machines in the event all other ventilators were in use,” Cook says.

He says that he is sure that HTM departments across the nation were thinking of, and doing, this type of creative work in preparation for surges.

“That’s what we all do; problem solve, maintain equipment, keep facilities operational, and if we can’t resolve, we find someone who can assist. Not knowing if one day, you would get COVID-19 at work and take it home to your family, just added to the stress and anxiety,” Cook says.

He says that he didn’t see his parents for months because he was concerned that he might unknowingly transmit it to them.

“When I did see them, it was talking with them through a window while I stood outside,” he says.

Cook and his colleagues still pulled off an impressive feat, even with the additional challenges of the pandemic.

“While working through the pandemic, our network opened three new hospitals in a one-year timeframe along with merging with four hospitals and about 18 off-campus rehab facilities. In 2019, the clinical engineering department was merged into the ‘Technology

Department’ with the information services department in the network. This integration now gives CE a direct connection to network leadership,” Cook says.

He says that yet another change to mention, in April of 2021, the network moved to a new CMMS while doing all the above.

“It’s been a rollercoaster the past two years. I appreciate my staff and the entire CE team here at LVHN. I’m thankful for my family and their support during these unprecedented times,” Cook says.

When not on the job, Cook spends time with his wife of 30 years; Suellen. There is also his daughter Susan, a mechanical engineer and son Jordan, a college student studying to be a biology teacher.

“During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, my son got me interested in beekeeping,” Cook says.

He says that he enjoys hiking, skiing, kayaking and hunting. He does some automotive repair of his family’s vehicles as well, which isn’t necessarily a hobby, but more out of a necessity.

“Hats off to all those in the HTM field getting it done day in and day out, supporting your colleagues in nursing, and most of all, helping the patients who come to the hospitals for care,” Cook adds.

Hats off to you as well, sir.

BIOMETRICS

FAVORITE BOOK: TechNation

FAVORITE MOVIE:

“The Martian,” it’s a great example of problem solving, working under pressure and teamwork.

HIDDEN TALENT:

“In the past several years, I’ve learned to juggle. So many things on my plate, multitasking has been taken to a new level.”

FAVORITE FOOD:

My wife’s veal parmigiana. Ice cream, I can’t live without it.

WHAT’S ON MY BENCH?

Picture of my family, iced tea, candy, squeezable stress figure (worn out; need to buy a new one), and my trusty pocket screwdriver.

FAVORITE PART OF BEING A BIOMED?

“Knowing that what we do on a daily basis not only helps to keep the patients and staff safe in the facility but also helps to improve the health of our community.”

“Hats off to all those in the HTM field getting it done day in and day out, supporting your colleagues in nursing, and most of all, helping the patients who come to the hospitals for care.”

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NEXT GEN POWERED BY YP AT MD

Greg Czajka

A

dvocate Health Support Services Operations Director, Operations and Strategy Greg Czajka, CBET, CHTM, is among the next generation of healthcare technology management (HTM) leaders. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering and an MBA with a concentration in Health Services. Advocate Health is a large healthcare system created in December of 2022 when Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health completed a large merger.

The system is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium’s home turf, with a significant base in Chicago and Milwaukee, home base for Advocate Aurora. Advocate Health is the nation’s fifth-largest nonprofit health system, serving 6 million patients annually. The merger unites more than 21,000 physicians and 42,000 nurses under the same umbrella and includes more than 1,000 sites of care as well as 67 hospitals, according to reports.

TechNation recently learned more about this up-andcoming HTM professional.

Q: WHERE DID YOU GROW UP?

A: A small town in the south Chicago suburbs.

Q: WHERE DID YOU RECEIVE YOUR HTM TRAINING/ EDUCATION?

A: After graduation, it was on-the-job training at Loyola University Medical Center in my first role as a BMET.

Q: HOW DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER HTM?

A: The then-director of clinical engineering came to my school looking for upcoming grads for an entry-level position. I interviewed alongside my peers and made the cut!

Q: WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO GET INTO THIS FIELD?

A: I was not even aware of this field until I got the job! I had envisioned working in a manufacturing capacity while going to school, but I’m glad I stumbled into HTM.

Q: WHAT INTERESTS YOU THE MOST ABOUT HTM?

A: I always liked the satisfying feeling of figuring out a difficult repair, especially when you went down to the board level and found a failed component that you could replace for a few cents instead of the whole board for significantly more. I also really liked the quick fixes that would make the nurse say “Wow!” when you repaired something on the spot, or you came prepared with the part it needed.

Q: WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IN YOUR FIELD THUS FAR?

A: I’m not sure this qualifies, but what I feel most proud of is that both sites where I was in leadership, I left them better than when I found them. I made improvements to operations, team morale, and even cleaning up the shops.

Q: WHAT GOALS DO YOU HAVE FOR YOURSELF IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

A: Who knows what the future holds?! Health care is changing so fast that most experts say it won’t look the same in 5 years as it does today. I plan to continue climbing the corporate ladder as I become more experienced. I will also continue to stay active and involved in the health care community. I’m working on my Six Sigma Green Belt now and will consider other certifications once that is complete.

FUN FACTS

FAVORITE HOBBY: Gaming

FAVORITE SHOW OR MOVIE: “Star Trek”

FAVORITE MEAL: Pizza, duh.

WHAT WOULD YOUR SUPERPOWER BE?

It’d have to be the power of flight.

1 THING ON YOUR BUCKET LIST: Travel back to Japan – I went once years ago and really want to go again!

SOMETHING YOUR CO-WORKERS DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU: I don’t think there is anything they don’t know about me! I am very open with my life.

NEWS & NOTES

Updates from the HTM Industry

AGILITI CEO TO RETIRE

Agiliti Inc., a nationwide provider of medical technology management and service solutions to the United States health care industry, has announced that Tom Leonard will retire as Agiliti CEO on March 10, 2023, and continue on as a member of the company’s board of directors. Tom Boehning, currently president, will succeed Leonard as chief executive officer and join the Agiliti Board of Directors beginning March 10, 2023. Leonard will remain an employee of the company to assist with the transition of his executive responsibilities to Boehning until March 31, 2023.

REGISTER FOR HTM MIXER

MD Publishing, the parent company of TechNation magazine and the brand behind MD Expo, opened registration for the upcoming HTM Mixer on May 11-12, 2023 at Turf Valley Resort in Baltimore, Maryland.

The HTM Mixer is excited to be headed to Baltimore with support from the Baltimore Medical Engineers and Technicians Society (BMETS).

The HTM Mixer is a slightly modified, shorter-duration and less-crowded conference that provides valuable continuing education, networking and vendor engagement opportunities.

MD Publishing created HTM Mixers in 2020 when larger events were not possible. The mixers were a hit and served as a regional conference for HTM professionals eager to earn continuing education credits, explore solutions in an exhibit hall and network with peers.

For more information about the Baltimore HTM Mixer, visit htmmixer.com.

“Tom Boehning has been integral to our growth and evolution during his tenure as president,” said Leonard. “In his first three years at the company, he led the expansion of our solution offering and elevated Agiliti’s commercial capabilities, bringing more of our critical services to our more than 9,000 customers. His unwavering commitment to our essential role in health care is evident in our strong growth momentum, and our proven track record of creating value for shareholders.”

“I am honored to succeed Tom as CEO of Agiliti,” said Boehning. “Since joining the company, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside our colleagues and customers to deliver on our critical mission – always with a focus on improving the value we bring to our customers and our shareholders. Underlying Agiliti’s results and reputation is the strength and resilience of its business model, its nationwide scale and dedication to quality and service. It is a privilege to lead this team, and I look forward to furthering our partnerships and delivering on our proven growth strategy in the years to come.”

“This transition is a result of a thoughtful and deliberate succession planning process completed by our board of directors,” said Leonard. “We have every confidence that Tom Boehning is the right next leader to sustain Agiliti’s proud heritage and propel the company’s continued progress through its next era of growth.”

THE INTERMED GROUP IS ACQUIRED

Cressey & Company LP, a private investment firm focused on building leading health care services and information technology businesses, and Health Enterprise Partners (HEP), a health care-focused investment firm, announced that funds affiliated with Cressey and HEP have acquired The InterMed Group, a premier provider of healthcare technology management services, from Granite Bridge Partners.

InterMed provides a comprehensive array of end-to-end healthcare technology and equipment management services to hospitals and health systems across the United States, with a focus on biomedical and imaging equipment. The partnership with Cressey and HEP will expand and deepen InterMed’s offering and capacity to help hospitals and health care systems manage vast inventories of complex medical equipment efficiently and cost effectively while maintaining its highly responsive and attentive service to clients.

“The Cressey and HEP teams will help us further our mission as

a trusted provider to our clients and serve an even greater number of health care providers with leading-edge, cost-effective health technology products and equipment maintenance solutions,” said Rick Staab, CHTM, chief executive officer of InterMed. “Cressey and HEP are ideal partners for our next phase of growth with extensive track records of investing in many of the country’s leading health care services and technology companies. We look forward to what’s next, particularly in terms of the enhanced benefits we’ll be able to provide our clients.”

“We are excited to partner with Rick and the entire InterMed team as they assist healthcare clients in enhancing productivity with their medical equipment fleets and play an important role in helping deliver quality care to patients,” said Dave Rogero, partner at Cressey. “We see a great opportunity for InterMed to offer comprehensive, complementary solutions that address health care organizations’ most pressing healthcare technology management needs.”

MEDIPINES EXPANDS DISTRIBUTION OF AGM100 PULMONARY GAS EXCHANGE TECHNOLOGY

Orange County, California based MediPines, a global market leader in the development of gas exchange measurements, has announced that its MediPines AGM100, the world’s first FDAcleared, non-invasive pulmonary gas exchange analyzer, is now available throughout Canada, thanks to an agreement with LevoMed Canada Inc., a company focused on providing the Canadian health care market with high quality innovative products.

This Canadian national distribution launch kicked off at the 50th meeting of the Respiratory Therapy Society of Ontario to help meet the growing demand for non-invasive assessments in the face of surging respiratory care.

The MediPines AGM100 is the world’s only medical device which delivers a measure of a patient’s oxygen deficit (a non-invasive respiratory impairment severity measurement). The technology provides reliable, discriminative readings that enable real-time decision support for health care providers during times of surging respiratory patients and medical staff shortages.

“As the exclusive Canadian distribution partner of MediPines, we are excited to bring the benefits of the AGM100 to the Canadian health care system,” said Madhu Venkat, LevoMed Canada’s CEO. “We’re enthusiastic about the partnership and are keen to support the growing need for effective, quick and accurate gas exchange monitoring for the Canadian population with the help of the unique AGM100. It is an innovative cardiopulmonary diagnostic support technology, which we see as an important scientific innovation for detecting respiratory impairment non-invasively.”

“It’s great to have a group of medtech veterans such as Madhu, John, Mark, Perry, and William of the LevoMed team spearheading our technology adoption in leading hospitals throughout Canada, especially during this time of increased need,” said MediPines CEO Steve Lee.

Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the MediPines AGM100 as one of notable innovative health technologies for the treatment of COVID-19 and other global priority diseases in its WHO Compendium of Innovative Health Technologies.

SAMSUNG LAUNCHES ACCE GLASS-FREE DETECTOR FOR X-RAY IMAGING

Samsung has introduced a new flagship detector, the AccE Glass-Free Detector. The AccE Glass-Free Detector recently received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for commercial use in the USA.

“Being at the forefront of advancing health care imaging, we have recognized the need for new solutions that enhance both patient and user comfortability,” said David Legg, vice president, head of Boston Imaging. “From the ER to the OR, our glass-free detector exhibits reliability in versatile environments to help get the job done – and done well.”

The AccE Glass-Free Detector was designed to deliver high-resolution images of a digital detector, while offering exceptional user and patient benefits, including:

• Lightweight Design: Weighs approximately 4.5 pounds, which is 27 percent lighter than the conventional model.

• Clear Visibility: Exhibits a 76% DQE, leading the market in glassless panel technology.

• Functionality: Features a non-glass flexible panel with center-engraving to position a patient, a side chamfer to ease lifting and a rear grip to support transportation.

• High Load Allowance: Holds up to 881 pounds of surface load and 441 pounds of patient load.

• Dust and Water Resistant: Enables users to employ the detector with confidence in fast-paced environments.

The AccE Glass-Free Detector can be used on the AccE GM85 mobile Digital Radiography system and is coming soon to the AccE GC85A.

ABBOTT RECEIVES FDA APPROVAL FOR NAVITOR

Abbott recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company’s latest-generation transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system, Navitor, to treat people with severe aortic stenosis who are at high or extreme risk for open-heart surgery. The Navitor TAVI system is the latest addition to the company’s comprehensive transcatheter structural heart portfolio that offers less invasive treatment options to physicians and patients for some of the most common and serious heart diseases.

Aortic stenosis occurs when the aortic valve’s opening narrows, restricting blood flow to the body. Left untreated, it can lead to heart failure and death. For patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at high or extreme surgical risk due to the potential complications stemming from age, frailty, or having multiple other diseases or conditions, physicians may opt for a minimally invasive procedure using TAVI therapies such as the Navitor system.

“Abbott’s Navitor device features advancements to help doctors safely and effectively treat patients with aortic stenosis, including a design that reduces the backflow of blood around the valve that’s often a complication following TAVI procedures,” said Michael Reardon, M.D., Alison Family Distinguished Chair of Cardiovascular Research and professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the Houston Methodist Hospital, who served as principal

investigator for the study that led to FDA approval. “The innovative Navitor system also offers physicians stable and accurate device placement, even in challenging patient anatomies.”

Navitor features a unique fabric cuff (NaviSeal) to reduce or eliminate the backflow of blood around the valve frame known as paravalvular leak (PVL). Additionally, the new device is the only self-expanding TAVI system with leaflets within the native valve; this design can help improve access to coronary arteries to facilitate future procedures for treating coronary artery disease. The system provides excellent hemodynamics, or blood flow, through the valve. The Navitor device is implanted using Abbott’s FlexNav delivery system, which features a slim design to accommodate different patient anatomies and small vessels for stable, predictable and accurate valve delivery and placement.

“Our Navitor valve builds upon our industry-leading portfolio of minimally invasive devices that surpass existing standards of care to address a range of heart diseases,” said Michael Dale, senior vice president of Abbott’s structural heart business. “Navitor is the first TAVI system to offer optimal hemodynamics in all valve sizes while also preserving options for lifetime disease management, an important consideration for physicians and patients when selecting a TAVI solution. Receiving this approval is a major next step in our mission to help people live better lives through better health.”

JUDGE RULES APPLE INFRINGED ON MASIMO PATENT

A United States Administrative Law Judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that Apple Inc. violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 as amended, by importing and selling within the United States certain Apple Watches with light-based pulse oximetry functionality and components, which infringe one of Masimo’s pulse oximeter patents. Apple first released its pulse oximeter sensor with the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020 and continues to use it in the current Apple Watches. The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) will now consider whether to implement an import ban on these Apple Watches.

“We are happy that the ALJ recognized Apple’s infringement of Masimo’s pulse oximetry technology and took this critical first step toward accountability,” said Joe Kiani, CEO of Masimo. “Today’s decision should

help restore fairness in the market. Apple has similarly infringed on other companies’ technologies, and we believe today’s ruling exposes Apple as a company that takes other companies’ innovations and repackages them.”

Masimo is the global leader of pulse oximeters for medical use, having revolutionized the industry with its Masimo SET pulse oximetry technology, proven to help reduce blindness in babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, save lives of post-surgical patients on opioids and COVID patients monitored remotely, according to a news release.

Masimo recently debuted its own watch – the Masimo W1 – which is the first wearable device on the market to provide consumers with accurate, continuous health data, including oxygen level, hydration index, and pulse, heart, and respiration rates.

PENTAX MEDICAL PLANS NEW PREMIUM VIDEO PROCESSOR, ENDOSCOPE SERIES

PENTAX Medical, a division of HOYA Group, has obtained CE marks for two of its latest innovations; PENTAX Medical INSPIRA, the new premium video processor, and the i20c video endoscope series. Developed with a focus on health care provider’s needs, the new video processor maintains compatibility with PENTAX Medical’s recent endoscope models, and sets new standards in combination with the new i20c video endoscope generation.

PENTAX Medical INSPIRATM video processor delivers striking image quality with any PENTAX Medical endoscope. Compatible with two connection types, it allows for upgrading the legacy endoscopy portfolio to the latest imaging standards. As a result, the image quality of current endoscope generations meets high-class clinical needs, for an extended duration of time. This smart feature thus extends the life cycle of each endoscope for greater sustainability, while continuing to meet the highest standards of modern imaging and visualization.

PENTAX Medical INSPIRA video processor was developed with a focus on health care providers’ needs. It combines cutting-edge functionalities in one plug-andplay solution with intuitive usability. The video processor is controlled via a customizable, state-of-the-art touch panel, equipped with innovative image enhancement

functionalities and 4K image processing. This ultimately enables physicians to focus on what is really important; achieving optimal clinical outcomes.

The i20c generation of endoscopes is designed with superior ergonomics for health care professionals and exceptional imaging for the highest quality of procedures. Physicians instantly benefit from outstanding maneuverability, angulation and handling, combined with further improved vision. The unique control body and light-weight connector of the i20c video endoscopes are designed to further optimize the endoscopic workflow.

LIVE:

MARCH 1 | Cognosos

Save the date for this live webinar. Participation is eligible for 1 CE credit from the ACI.

MARCH 8 | QRS & Datrend

Save the date for this live webinar. Participation is eligible for 1 CE credit from the ACI.

MARCH 15 | Phoenix Data

Save the date for this live webinar. Participation is eligible for 1 CE credit from the ACI.

MARCH 22 | Ordr

Save the date for this live webinar. Participation is eligible for 1 CE credit from the ACI.

MARCH 29 | BC Group

Save the date for this live webinar. Participation is eligible for 1 CE credit from the ACI.

All webinars and podcast are eligible for 1 CE credit from the ACI.

ON-DEMAND:

sponsored by Kontakt.io

“Veterans Affairs’ Path To Innovation With Kontakt.io RTLS Solutions”

sponsored by Sodexo

“Capital Equipment Planning in Challenging Financial Times”

sponsored by Pronk

“Defib Maintenance: Completing Manufacturer-based PMs Faster Than Ever Before”

sponsored by Ordr

“More Data More Problems

– Data Reconciliation In The Modern HTM Environment”

PODCASTS:

sponsored by MMS

“The Hospitals of the Future”

LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

WELCOME TO THE TECHNATION COMMUNITY!

FIRST HEALTH ADVISORY

Q: WHAT PRODUCT, SERVICE, OR SOLUTIONS DOES YOUR COMPANY PROVIDE TO THE INDUSTRY?

First Health is a global cybersecurity and risk management advisory firm dedicated to serving the security, privacy, technology, and efficacy needs of the healthcare industry. First Health offers medical device security managed solutions, programmatic approaches, and flexible cybersecurity service capabilities to help healthcare organizations achieve their strategic, business, risk, and compliance goals.

Q: TELL US WHAT DIFFERENTIATES YOUR COMPANY FROM THE COMPETITION?

We use a multi-disciplinary team of HTM technicians, clinical engineers, security analysts, clinicians, and privacy professionals to deliver unparalleled medical device security services and programs for the HTM and IT/IS teams. We fully understand the limitations and capabilities of medical device security and incorporate this into our service framework, which consists of governance and strategy, patching devices, vulnerability management, segmentation, incident response, and risk prioritization.

For more information, visit firsthealthadvisory.com.

Matt Dimino CSO Clinical & Operational Technology

AAMI UPDATE

AAMI Standards Leadership Take on International Roles and Look to HTM

The year 2023 is expected to be extremely action packed and productive for the AAMI Standards Program. As of January 2023, AAMI Standards leaders Amanda Benedict and Hae Choe have assumed key roles in advising international guidance. Additionally, the Standards staff is working towards five major highlights the health technology community should look forward to:

1. Improved “regulatory readiness” of standards:  Efforts are underway to develop guidance on writing standards content that lends itself better to uniform interpretation and conformity assessment. This is expected to make standards easier to use for both industry and regulatory stakeholders.

2. New AAMI Committee Central platform:  We know that this one is at the top of the wish list for many (OK, pretty much all) of our standards group members. We’re thrilled to announce that work is underway to identify a new, more user-friendly technology solution for AAMI’s Standards development platform. We expect to be able to launch the new tool before the end of 2023.

3. New editions of AAMI EQ56, AAMI PB70 and AAMI HE75:  These critically important standards for medical equipment management programs, protective barriers and human factors engineering, respectively, have completed or are nearing completion.

4. Combination products going international:  Although it’s too soon to speculate on specifics, there is significant interest in developing international stan -

dards and technical documents for combination products. Potential pathways have been identified to elevate AAMI technical documents within the international standards arena.

5. More standards for healthcare technology management (HTM):  The AAMI Medical Equipment Management (EQ) Committee and its affiliated working groups will be starting work on several new projects for standardization in important areas of HTM, including health technology acquisition and HTM education programs.

HAE CHOE LEADS IN ANSI AND IEC INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ROLES

AAMI Principal Director of Standards Hae Choe has begun her role as vice president of technical at the United States National Committee (USNC) of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

USNC serves as the U.S. body for the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). In her role as the vice president of technical, Choe will be the Chair of USNC’s Technical Management Committee (TMC), which manages all of the U.S. mirror committee activities in standards for IEC. Reportedly, this is the first time in history that someone from the U.S. medical/health sector has been elected as the chair of the USNC TMC.

As part of being elected as the chair of the TMC at USNC, Choe was also elected into the IEC Standardization Management Board (SMB) as the U.S. primary voting member.

“Not only a governing body, the SMB is intrinsically linked to all phases of standards development at IEC,” Choe said, explaining the responsibilities of the board’s members. “SMB has been delegated to manage the standards work of the commission and as such, takes the leadership role in ensuring that the standards

development at the IEC is not only on schedule and managing expectations, but is also forward thinking.”

“Taking on both the USNC and IEC roles is overwhelming but also very exciting,” she added. “I am honored to have been elected into these roles. What is most fascinating is that there are so many converging areas for standards development and collaborative work. By taking on the IEC SMB member role, for instance, I was approached by several other Technical Committee leads at IEC wanting to understand IEC 60601-1 and how we can work together. This year, I plan to soak everything in.”

AMANDA BENEDICT REPRESENTS U.S. ENGAGEMENT IN ISO GLOBAL STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT

Additionally, AAMI Vice President of Standards Amanda Benedict has assumed her role as chair for the ANSI ISO Council.

Representing the interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals, ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The ANSI ISO Council helps guide the organization in recommending policy and process-related positions for ISO bodies, including the ISO General Assembly, ISO Council, ISO Technical Management Board, ISO Committee on Consumer Policy, ISO Committee on Developing Countries, ISO Conformity Assessment Committee, and subgroups of these committees.

“The AIC advises on U.S. interests to inform ANSI policy and process-related positions on ISO standardization issues, as well as reactions to proposed areas of new standards activity and allocation of secretariat roles,” said Benedict. “I’m thrilled to be chairing this group and working alongside ANSI members and staff to ensure the U.S. continues to participate effectively in international standardization and conformity assessment through ISO.”

“We’re immensely proud of Amanda’s work on the international stage,” added AAMI President and CEO Pamela Arora. “This appointment is a credit to Amanda’s commitment to the global harmonization of high-quality standards, which wonderfully aligns with AAMI’s mission to advance the development, management and use of safe and effective health technology around the world.”

RIBBON CUTTING A&G Biomedical

A&G Biomedical is a one-stop shop for all your biomedical and surgical equipment needs. It is a trusted and reliable source with certified technicians who specialize in different equipment such as infusion pumps, patient monitors, endoscopes, dental handpieces, ultrasound probes and much more.

One of A&G Biomedical’s newest projects is that it recently started working with more doctor offices, selling instruments and different supplies.

“It’s been a challenge; surgical supplies are a whole different world and doctor’s understandably have high standards for the tools they work with. It is not an easy task, but we enjoy it,” A&G Biomedical Co-owner Andrea Rincones said.

“We have also been helping some customers source hard-to-find or backordered parts/equipment. We understand some orders are needed as an emergency, and we have been able to develop relationships with a variety of suppliers which gives us access to a wide inventory of parts,” A&G Biomedical Co-owner Gabriela Fajardo said.

TechNation recently found out more about A&G Biomedical via a Q&A with Andrea and Gabriela.

Q: HOW DOES YOUR COMPANY’S STAND OUT IN THE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT FIELD?

A: Being a small company gives us the freedom to provide a customized service. So, we adjust prices, ETA and even service reports to our customers’ needs. We want our company to be known for our customer service!

Q: WHAT IS ON THE HORIZON FOR YOUR COMPANY? DO YOU HAVE ANY GOALS YOU WOULD LIKE TO ACHIEVE IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

A: Since we are based in Florida, this is our main territory. We have several accounts out of the state, so our goal is to keep growing and open a second location in the near future.

Q: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE OUR READERS TO KNOW?

A: Even though the biomedical field is dominated by males, nowadays you see more females, and as a women-owned business we are proud to be part of the community!

For more information, visit agbiomedical.com.

ECRI UPDATE

A Look at the Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2023

CRI identified the following topics as warranting high-priority attention in 2023.

1. GAPS IN RECALLS FOR AT-HOME MEDICAL DEVICES CAUSE PATIENT CONFUSION AND HARM

When a medical device that is used in the home is recalled, too often users don’t learn about the recall in a timely manner; and whatever information they do receive may be too technical for them to comprehend. Without a clear understanding of the risks, patients may be harmed by continuing to use an unsafe device – or by inappropriately stopping use of a device whose benefits outweigh the risks.

With health care increasingly moving to the home setting, the lack of a recall process that meets the needs of home users is a growing concern. In ECRI’s view, medical device manufacturers need to be more proactive in creating clear, easy-to-understand recall notices and getting those notices into the hands of the people using their devices.

2. GROWING NUMBER OF DEFECTIVE SINGLE-USE MEDICAL DEVICES PUTS PATIENTS AT RISK

Disposable products and other types of single-use medical devices play a role in virtually every patient encounter, which is why the unacceptably high number of defective products in the supply chain is of such concern. ECRI has received reports of cracked tubing and connectors; compromised sterility of needles, catheters, and procedure kits; and incorrect product labeling. These are just a few examples of product defects that can lead to waste, delays, incorrect treatment, healthcare-acquired infections or other patient

harm. Concerningly, rather than seeing improvements over time, ECRI has observed a continuing increase in problem reports.

There are steps that health care providers can take to protect patients, staff and others from the use of defective products. However, the greatest impact will come from manufacturers improving their quality control practices to prevent defective products from reaching the market.

3. INAPPROPRIATE USE OF AUTOMATED DISPENSING CABINET OVERRIDES CAN RESULT IN MEDICATION ERRORS

Automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) provide controlled access to medications near the bedside. In an emergency, an ADC’s controls can be overridden so that medications can be accessed more rapidly. This is a risky practice in that it bypasses the pharmacist’s review of the medication order, thereby increasing the risk of a medication error. For that reason, overrides should be considered only when dictated by clinical circumstances. Too often, however, practitioners view the override process as a routine step, rather than a risky one. Any deviation from safe use practices could lead to the selection and removal of the wrong medication type, strength or dose – errors that could be fatal.

4. UNDETECTED VENOUS NEEDLE DISLODGEMENT OR ACCESS-BLOODLINE SEPARATION DURING HEMODIALYSIS CAN LEAD TO DEATH

Potentially life-threatening hazards can occur during hemodialysis, including the venous needle becoming dislodged at the vascular access point or the central venous catheter becoming separated from the bloodline used for treatment. Either event very quickly leads to a massive loss of blood, and thus severe injury or death. Often, such events cannot be detected by a hemodialysis machine’s venous pressure monitor – and so will not produce an alarm.

5. FAILURE TO MANAGE CYBERSECURITY RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CLOUD-BASED CLINICAL SYSTEMS CAN RESULT IN CARE DISRUPTIONS

Accessing a clinical service such as an electronic health record (EHR) or a radiology system through the cloud can offer significant benefits compared with more traditional systems. This deployment model does not, however, eliminate a healthcare delivery organization’s security considerations. It only changes them. Organizations that do not both understand and plan for the differences will be at increased risk of a security event that could significantly disrupt patient care.

6. INFLATABLE PRESSURE INFUSERS CAN DELIVER FATAL AIR EMBOLI FROM IV SOLUTION BAGS

Inflatable pressure infusers (IPIs) are simple devices that compress an IV solution bag to allow pressure-assisted infusions. In certain circumstances, using an IPI to administer fluids creates an increased risk of infusing air from the IV bag into the patient – specifically, if (1) the air is not purged from the bag before use and (2) the bag is allowed to be compressed completely flat by the IPI during use. This could cause an embolism that, depending on its size and location, could lead to circulatory collapse, stroke or death. Using IPIs to infuse through intracardiac catheters and sheaths is of particular concern.

7. CONFUSION SURROUNDING VENTILATOR CLEANING AND DISINFECTION REQUIREMENTS CAN LEAD TO CROSS-CONTAMINATION

Reprocessing instructions provided by ventilator manufacturers are, in some cases, incomplete or confusing; and even guidance from regulatory authorities can be unclear. Questions can exist about which components need cleaning/disinfection and when. Lack of clarity about the steps required between patients increases the risk of cross-contamination and the spread of infectious disease.

8. COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ELECTROSURGERY CAN LEAD TO SERIOUS BURNS

Misconceptions surrounding the use of monopolar electrosurgical units can – and sometimes do – lead to unintended burns. Common misconceptions include: (1)

That using multiple ESUs simultaneously on one patient presents no added risk. In reality, burn risks can increase exponentially in this scenario. (2) That the active electrode should be activated before its tip is in contact with the patient. In fact, doing so causes a high voltage to develop in the circuit, increasing the likelihood of injury. (3) That the return electrode pad can never be safely applied over an orthopedic metal implant, tattoo or piercing. ECRI’s laboratory testing calls that assumption into question as well.

9. OVERUSE OF CARDIAC TELEMETRY CAN LEAD TO CLINICIAN COGNITIVE OVERLOAD AND MISSED CRITICAL

EVENTS

Using cardiac telemetry on patients who do not require that level of monitoring invariably leads to an increase in alarms that vie for the clinician’s attention. The increased alarm load can overwhelm and distract care providers, possibly leading to a critical alarm being missed and a patient’s deterioration going unrecognized.

10. UNDERREPORTING DEVICE-RELATED ISSUES MAY RISK RECURRENCE

Reporting medical-device-related problems when they are observed is a crucial safety practice, so that problems can be remedied before patient care is affected. Unfortunately – as clinical engineers and biomeds know all too well – faulty devices are not always reported through appropriate channels. Staff may find the reporting process to be too onerous, they may be unable to interrupt a patient care task to submit a report, they may not know how to report, or they may see little benefit to reporting. Such barriers need to be addressed in order to prevent harm.

TO LEARN MORE . . .

This article is adapted from ECRI’s Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2023. An Executive Brief version of that report is available for complimentary download at www. ecri.org/2023hazards. The full report, accessible to ECRI members, provides detailed steps that organizations can take to prevent adverse incidents.

To learn more, contact ECRI at (610) 825-6000, ext. 5891, or by email at clientservices@ecri.org.

As the largest independent, technology-enabled clinical asset management company in the United States, TRIMEDX provides strategic planning and management of clinical assets to drive reduction in operational expenses, free up capital for new strategic initiatives and deliver improved safety and cyber protection. TRIMEDX was built by providers, for providers and leverages a history of expert clinical engineers to manage over $30 billion in clinical assets across thousands of locations.

Biomedical Supervisor

Please take a look at these opportunities to join RENOVO SOLUTIONS, the industry’s largest privately held HTM provider. We value knowledge, reliability, and integrity in our employees. If you are interested in being a part of a team that is committed to making a difference in the field of Healthcare Technology Management, we invite you to apply for one of our open positions. We are always looking for talented, passionate, hard-working people to join our team.

Biomedical Technician Manager

United Infusion (formerly Willow Medical) is a leader in Infusion Pump sales, rental, and repair to medical professionals. We carry an extensive inventory of Infusion Pumps for sale and rental. Our company is a reliable source for the repair, preventive maintenance, and refurbishment of Infusion Pumps. We are honored to serve hospitals, nursing homes, home care, surgery centers, testing labs, veterinary, colleges, universities and emergency medical centers.

The InterMed Group is a technology management company fulfilling the needs of our customers for over 20 years. InterMed sells and services biomedical equipment for clients across the country and is growing quickly. As a result, InterMed is on the search for high-quality candidates to serve our many customers and contracts.

Agiliti is a nationwide company of passionate medical equipment management experts who believe every interaction has the power to change a life. We proudly serve within hospitals, healthcare facilities, and our 90+ local service centers to ensure quality medical equipment is in the right place at the right time for effective patient care. Make an impact in healthcare and grow your career with Team Agiliti!

InfuSystem is a growing healthcare service provider, specializing in medical devices and related products and services for patients in hospitals, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, and other major service centers. We provide direct payer rentals, pump and consumable sales, and biomedical services and repair, serving all 50 states and Canada. Headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan, we have Centers of Excellence in Kansas, California, Massachusetts, and Ontario, Canada.

Associated Imaging Services has been offering nuclear medicine and ultrasound solutions to our customers since 1990. We specialize in the sales and service of new and refurbished nuclear medicine cameras and ultrasound systems throughout Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and the surrounding areas.

Intermountain Health is a leading nonprofit organization and health system that provides high-quality care to our patients and communities in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Kansas. We are a team of more than 59,000 caregivers with a shared goal: to make a difference in our communities by putting our patients and families first, believing that fully engaged employees are the foundation of exceptional patient care.

For more than a century, Piedmont Healthcare has been a recognized leader in delivering expert care. Last year, Piedmont served over 2.7 million patients - performing over 88,368 surgeries, delivering 16,746 babies, providing nearly one million outpatient encounters, completing 382 organ transplants and handling more than 627,230 emergency room visits. For most, that would be a great track record. For us, it’s a good start.

BIOMED 101 The Second Phase of Medical Device Integration

BY ANTHONY J. CORONADO, MBA

Medical equipment has gone through different phases in the past 25 years with a focus on improving technology. This evolution from analog electronics to digital components has led to our current phase of integration. Having taken a position with Providence Health in Southern California, I have encountered an effective business model that can change our current phase of integration by combining the IT end user support department with clinical engineering. By leading both teams as one, Providence Health can change the approach of our collaboration with medical device manufacturers and establish what I am calling the Second Phase of Integration.

Integrating medical devices with the electronic medical record has provided benefits to caregivers throughout the world. It has increased efficiency and removed the possibility of human error. It has also developed new vulnerabilities that have changed the skill set of healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals. Essentially, this integration has evolved medical devices into a network that incorporates medical devices into an infrastructure. With this change, integration middleware is introduced, more connectivity service events are present, and cybersecurity is a new primary focus when it comes to patient safety. IT principals that have been established for years must be applied when possible and medical equipment management plans need to be adapted. The integration and cybersecurity challenge for medical devices has always been the lack of standardization of the operating systems that medical equipment uses with its software. IT benefits from standardizing all the hardware and can easily apply change, configuration and patch management to devices. Backups and recovery techniques can also be easily applied and having all the data at one source allows for a well-maintained data center. The current state of medical devices is the exact opposite and new technology is constantly being

developed making the challenge more difficult. To help with this challenge, medical device manufacturers are required to disclose their devices security and privacy characteristics to device owners in the form of a Manufacturer Disclosure Statement for Medical Device Security (MDS2). With this form, manufacturers provide the necessary details for HTM professionals to establish controls to reduce the risk from networked medical devices.

Every networked medical device leaving production and hitting the market is vulnerable. One of the new activities required by HTM professionals is to produce hardening guides to reduce risk. The establishment of VLAN and network segmentation activities are now a common practice within medical device management. IT security principles can be used when appropriate, but with the quantity of different medical devices, the challenge provides a continuum of complexities. Health care, medical device service and cybersecurity organizations have been establishing strategies and technical safeguards to develop means of reducing risk from integration for almost a decade. All the hard work has led to where the industry is now. It is our job to aid in evolving the current practices to a new phase.

This year, 2023, marks the 10-year anniversary of my winning submission for ECRI Institutes “Health Devices Achievement Award.” This award is a global competition that is presented each year to health care organizations that demonstrate outstanding initiatives that promote patient safety or facilitates better strategic management of healthcare technology. Past winners include Johns Hopkins Hospital, Penn Medicine’s Center of Healthcare, and last year’s winner McLaren Northern Michigan. My submission was on an Integration Systems Management program established by Renovo Solutions that was implemented at Methodist Hospital of Arcadia. Our submission, “Equipment Management for the Digital Age,” gave the framework for addressing integration vulnerabilities back in 2013. It allowed me to collaborate with the FDA and establish the first safeguards for medical devices and cybersecurity. Ten years later, more devices can be networked and integrated but the concept is still the same. The introduction of a Second Phase of Integration can assist with the challenge.

Providence Health’s business model of integrating end user support with clinical engineering has established a new strategy that enhances the technical integration concept developed years ago. By combining skill sets, knowledge can be shared that can strengthen medical device security protocols. Our IT infrastructure is established, and the goal is to utilize it to the best of our ability when it comes to medical equipment. Providence has started the discussion of not using medical equipment manufacturer hardware, which includes computers, servers and virtual servers. The goal is to load their software to our infrastructure. This will allow our health care organization to apply our security and integration protocols, which allows us to have the complete management of the risk. This is what I am labeling the Second Phase of Integration.

By combining the two departments into one, the Second Phase of Integration can thrive with the proper coordination. As more vendor software is installed on medical center PCs/servers, hardware refresh activities can be managed jointly to make sure the vendor’s software is compatible with new versions of operating systems. Backups can be scheduled and managed more proficiently. Automatic patches, corrections and changes can be deployed. After each automatic push, a plan can be developed to validate the success by the clinical engineering team. IT security access can be shared

between the two departments which will make integration more efficient, and equipment can be deployed quicker. This business model takes the First Phase of Integration and expands its capabilities to meet the challenges of medical device vulnerabilities in a live environment.

To make true change and progress in the HTM industry requires the sharing of “Best Practices.” The continual integration of IT with Clinical Engineering can combine “Best Practices” and opportunities to share information. The time has come to invite IT professionals to Clinical Engineering Associations throughout the country. If the Second Phase of Integration is embraced and enforced, health care organizations can put more power in the hands and minds of their technical employees. With this new skill set, well-rounded effective integration plans can be established. The cyber threat is real, and any healthcare organization can be the next target. Our job as HTM professionals is to develop new phases of integration to meet the vulnerabilities associated with technology and do our part of promoting a safe environment.

Anthony J. Coronado, MBA, is the Director of Clinical Technology Services SoCal LA Coast for Providence | Shared Services.

Providence Health SoCal Coast Clinical Technology Services Team - Clinical Engineering and Desktop Support (IT) Integrated.

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Watch these webinars on-demand IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

“Left To Our Own Devices – Will We Implement Best Practices?”

claroty.com

The majority of HDOs are not securing medical devices. They simply do not understand why these devices are different. The new HHS 405(d) Health Industry Cybersecurity Practice publication recommends modifications that need to be applied to traditional techniques, procedures and practices. Ty Greenhalgh, Healthcare Industry Principal with Medigate by Claroty, and Mike Luessi, GM Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Business at ServiceNow, provided an overview of these best practices and how these best practices operationalize medical device security data. They aligned them with initiatives moving toward and discussed how end users in clinical engineering are impacted.

“The single biggest takeaway from the webinar is confirmation that accurate asset inventory is the backbone of the program.”

-Jon Parsons, Clinical Engineering Director at Trinity Health/Holy Cross Hospital.

“Veterans Affairs’ Path to Innovation with Kontakt.io RTLS Solutions”

kontakt.io

Kontakt.io Senior Director of Enterprise IoT Solutions Kapil Asher was joined by VA CTO of Emerging Healthcare Technologies Integration Jeff Saura, VA Program Analyst Greg Merrill and Kontakt. io Director of Product Marketing Aneta Ciurkot to discuss how the VA is utilizing Kontakt.io towards innovative solutions to beat challenges related to staff shortages and workflow inefficiencies. Attendees were able to learn:

• Current challenges with asset tracking and VA’s approach to solving them.

• The key motivation for using Bluetooth LE over other technology.

• How the pandemic affected the urgency of the project, and how it revealed other challenges related to staff efficiency.

• VA’s progressive thinking to solve for challenges C-suite will face in 2023.

• The concept of utilization, condition and location sensing (UCLS), a step beyond traditional RTLS.

Attendees provided feedback via a survey that included the question, “Why did you attend today’s webinar?”

“To be updated with the latest technology, as well to know more about RTLS solutions,”

- Edwin Gonzales, biomedical engineer, University Medical Center.

YP at MD is a group of young professionals in the HTM industry. Gather with your fellow up-and-coming colleagues at our MD Expos, HTM mixers and on social media to network, share ideas and discuss our bright future in the HTM industry!

SCAN BELOW

PROVIDES TRAVEL TECH ASSISTANCE

The wildly successful and popular HTM Jobs website is adding to its services. From the leader in providing news and information to the HTM community, TechNation provides a industry career center; a simple, streamlined and effective way to connect qualified candidates with open jobs to help biomeds find their next opportunity.

HTMjobs.com is a highly targeted career center where it connects a talent network with employers and hiring managers from the leading health care systems and companies. And, it is free! There is absolutely no cost to register and complete the custom profile. Yes, all of your profile information is private. HTM Jobs will not share or sell any of your information or profile data.

Next, HTM Jobs will contact you as targeted opportunities arise that fit your needs.

Among those opportunities is the new TechNation

Travel Tech.

A TechNation Travel Tech is a highly skilled and experienced HTM professional who is assigned to different specialty areas on a temporary basis to fill in short-term employment gaps.

Temp Tech is a specialty that took root when the field of clinical engineering continued to face a nationwide shortage of qualified techs. Hospitals, clinics and other areas have unfilled positions, yet have much needed work to be done on medical equipment service.

Typical work includes general biomed, imaging service, PMs, etc. Benefits include excellent pay with travel, lodging and meals all covered.

Through multiple channels and industry contacts, HTM Jobs and TechNation have dozens of phenomenal opportunities, currently available all over the U.S., at leading health care systems for qualified technicians.

Discover what the exciting world of being a temp technician is and join the growing network of TechNation Travel Techs!

For more information, visit htmjobs.com/technation-travel-tech

ROUNDTABLE Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity remains a hot topic in the healthcare technology management (HTM) world. In a December 2022 cohort study of 374 ransomware attacks, the annual number of ransomware attacks on health care delivery organizations more than doubled from 2016 to 2021, exposing the personal health information of nearly 42 million patients. During the study period, ransomware attacks exposed larger quantities of personal health information and grew more likely to affect large organizations with multiple facilities.

The study results suggest that ransomware attacks on health care delivery organizations are increasing in frequency and sophistication; disruptions to care during ransomware attacks may threaten patient safety and outcomes.

TechNation reached out to experts in the field to shed more light on cybersecurity. Participating in the roundtable are First Health Advisory’s CSO Clinical and OT

Technology Matt Dimino, CISM, CRISC, HCISPP; Strategic Healthcare Technology Associates LLC Principal Consultant Stephen L. Grimes, FACCE, FHIMSS, FAIMBE, AAMIF; Cynerio Cybersecurity Evangelist Chad Holmes; VA Boston Healthcare System Clinical Systems Engineer Kameron Kane; ECRI Senior Cybersecurity Engineer Chad Waters and Ordr Head of Product Management Chris Westphal.

Q: WHAT ARE THREE BASIC THINGS AN HTM DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO DO IN REGARD TO CYBERSECURITY?

DIMINO: HTM staff members need to understand the departmental and organizational objectives and have a basic strategy with structure. HTM leadership should work with security leaders to map out security requirements and define the limitations and expectations through a form of governance. HTM leadership should also draw up the department roadmap and share appropriately with their frontline staff. Learn to bake cybersecurity practices into routine operations, such as evaluating and populating network and security attributes in the CMMS during PMs and CMs. This requires data governance around the expectations for network and security data within the CMMS. Don’t overpopulate with data just

because you can; it’s not helpful if you don’t know why you need it. Also, track technician efforts with work orders and codes; this helps support long-term initiatives with metrics and measures the level of effort, which can support the need for additional staff or professional services. Budget for training just as you would for OEM or ISO equipment-specific training. Numerous organizations offer various flavors of cybersecurity training including self-paced and boot camps. Not all training should be technical as some staff members need to understand risk and how risk is measured and articulated to leadership.

GRIMES: CE/HTM services and their staff should:

• Familiarize themselves with cybersecurity issues (i.e., read relevant articles & take relevant courses so they understand both cybersecurity in general as well as unique issues associated with medical device cybersecurity).

• Familiarize themselves with their organization’s current approach to cybersecurity and the extent to which the organization’s current cybersecurity program takes into consideration the cyber vulnerabilities and risks associated with medical technology.

• Work with the organization’s IT security professionals, manufacturers and other key stakeholders to insure the organization’s seamless and comprehensive approach toward cybersecurity risk management.

• Establish who is going to be responsible for various security program elements and insure they are executing their role. Conduct tabletop exercises with various stakeholders for training purposes and to determine whether everyone is prepared.

HOLMES: Improving cybersecurity practices within HTM teams is a combination of improving human practices and effectively adopting technology. Among the top steps teams can take are:

• Improve Communication with Colleagues: The most effective HTM teams have strong relationships with their IT, Security and Network peers. Unfortunately, this is often an exception, resulting in cybersecurity challenges caused by lack of staffing, miscommunication and ticket-driven communications. Improving how HTM teams work with their colleagues is critical in most environments.

• Clarity in Guidance: HTM teams spend significant amounts of time attempting to work. From searching for devices to understanding where to download patches, time is frequently wasted in clarifying device-level actions. By providing clarity in requests, resources, guidance and device details, HTM teams can see improvements in both efficiency and implementing cybersecurity protections.

• Prioritization of Actions: Cybersecurity products are

notorious for overloading teams with numerous findings. HTM teams should explore systems that allow them to not only understand actions, but also automatically prioritize and act on those findings based on the actual risks they represent. Products using standard scoring systems like the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) to determine severity, and the Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) to measure likelihood are proving to be the most effective scoring approaches for prioritizing action.

KANE: It’s safe to say HTM departments are familiar with the power of preventative measures, and cybersecurity is no different. One small action item is simply installing antivirus software on as many devices as possible. Scaling up, maintaining an accurate inventory of all networked medical devices is imperative to the security of your department. Finally, when cybersecurity incidents do arise, having an established reporting and response plan in place is best practice. The goal is to diminish administrative time that should be spent addressing the incident at hand.

WATERS: The most important thing is to maintain a complete inventory with relevant data points including firmware versions and network addressing – you need to know what you have in order to protect the environment. My two other suggestions are related to procurement and maintenance respectfully. A security assessment should be a formal part of the purchasing approval process. For technology already in place you should develop a medical device security policy to proactively reduce security risks and manage ongoing security concerns.

WESTPHAL: An HTM department should do the following three basic things in regard to cybersecurity:

• Establish a method to ensure a complete, up-to date inventory of all assets under management with comprehensive and accurate asset details. Inventory tools such as a CMMS and/or CMDB provide a central repository for asset information and methods that leverage automation can ensure that all connected assets are included with up-to-date, comprehensive and accurate details.

• Establish methods to identify and address asset vulnerabilities. This includes identifying assets with outdated and unpatched operating systems and software that is not up to date or should not be installed.

• Establish relationships and workflows with your counterparts on security operations teams to share insights and best practices, coordinate incident response efforts, and collaborate on proactive measures to improve protections.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LATEST THREATS AND PREVENTATIVE MEASURES HEALTH CARE FACILITIES SHOULD BE AWARE OF IN 2023?

DIMINO: Threats will always be imminent; therefore, don’t plan for specific threats; plan for iterative risk management practices by understanding how to reduce and respond to risk efficiently and effectively. Devices may not be specifically targeted, but they are prime candidates for lateral movement which will be debilitating since most are unpatched, unsegmented and unmonitored. Preventative measures include hardening devices during onboarding by having risks appropriately identified, addressed and tracked. A true life cycle approach is necessary, and the best way to accomplish this is by creating a program with policies, procedures, guidelines, metrics, governance and senior leadership support.

GRIMES: The reality is that medical devices and systems continue to evolve and, consequently, will invariably contain unsecured and unprotected elements that are vulnerable to a growing number and variety of security threats. These cybersecurity threats may come in the form of ransomware, state-sponsored cyber-attacks, or malicious assaults where medical technology may or may not have been the original, intended target. Health care facilities will need to constantly evaluate their evolving systems to understand where system vulnerabilities are occurring. Those health care facilities also need to monitor the growing variety of threats to insure they are taking appropriate steps to inoculate their technical system vulnerabilities from these threats. Such “inoculation” may involve regular software updates, user education, password management, anti-malware applications, firewalls as well as other administrative, technical and physical safeguards.

HOLMES: The Bad News: Insecure and unpatched IoT/ IoMT deployed on unsegmented networks will continue to be primary attack vectors for phishing, ransomware, malware and related attacks for the foreseeable future. Many attacks on health care aren’t elegant, but instead take advantage of insecure environments to spread rapidly before compromising multiple systems.

The Good News: Many of the challenges seen in health care have well-known protections in industries considered to be leaders in cybersecurity adoption (finance, insurance, commercial, etc). Properly segmenting networks to prevent cyberattack spread, improving patch management effectiveness, and adopting modern approaches to detecting and responding to attacks can quickly improve the security posture of the vast majority of health care organizations.

KANE: As supported operating systems shift away from infrastructure greater than 10 years old, legacy machines create huge cybersecurity gaps. Medical device manufacturers face a unique compatibility obstacle, weighing the requirements of medical software against operating systems that update on a much quicker timeline. Although HTM departments themselves cannot produce software as quickly as they may need it, knowing your unsupported devices creates the foresight to upgrade when possible.

WATERS: Ransomware isn’t going anywhere because the primary motivation for malicious hacking is financial – extorting organizations by withholding access to critical data or IT functions. While medical devices may not always be the primary target, they can be impacted when the systems that support them go down. HTM departments should be prepared for those situations by having backup plans and downtime procedures for every device type.

WESTPHAL: Ransomware continues to be a top threat to health care facilities in 2023. Knowing your attack surface (i.e., the assets connected to the network) and the potential threats (i.e., vulnerabilities and risky communications) is an essential first step to protecting your environment from the impact to ransomware. Ensuring operating systems and software packages are up to date and patched will eliminate known vulnerabilities that an attacker can exploit. Assessing network communications helps to identify devices that are deployed in the wrong part of the network (e.g., medical devices connected a guest network) in addition to vulnerable protocols (e.g.,

Chad Waters Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at ECRI

Kameron Kane Clinical Systems Engineer at VA Boston Healthcare

Stephen L. Grimes Principal Consultant at SHTA, LLC

Chad Holmes Cybersecurity Evangelist at Cynerio

Matt Dimino CSO Clinical and OT Technology at First Health Advisory

Chris Westphal Head of Product Management at Ordr

RDP, FTP, Telnet, and SMB) that should be disabled or restricted. Identifying and restricting Internet facing communications is also an important step. Internet communications that are unnecessary or potentially malicious (e.g., to known malicious sites or to domains in high-risk geographies) should be blocked at perimeter controls such as firewalls. Network segmentation is another measure that can limit the attack surface and reduce risk for systems where patching is not an option. Segmentation can be applied at a broad level to restrict communications among a group of assets (e.g., an emergency room, ICU, or NICU) or at a granular level to allow only specific communications to and from a specific asset.

Q: CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT ONE TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCT OR SERVICE BIOMEDS CAN USE TO HELP PROTECT A FACILITY?

DIMINO: This combines IoMT passive scanning solutions, your CMMS, and professional services. Tools alone won’t solve the problem as these require people and processes to support. Medical device security is hard, inefficient, expensive to build internally, and is often disjointed when you attempt to buy different tools to support the security initiatives. First Health Advisory offers professional services that will help operationalize and integrate these tools which will accelerate the value and demonstrate ROI.

GRIMES: In recent years, a number of services and products have been developed to aid CE/HTM professionals in the management of cybersecurity risks. The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has published “Medical Device Cybersecurity: A Guide for HTM Professionals” that offers advice from 25 industry experts on how CE/HTM professionals can implement an effective medical device cybersecurity program within their organizations. AAMI also offers a 6-plus hour online course on “Medical Device Cybersecurity 101 for HTM Professionals” that is taught by industry experts and includes a copy of the aforementioned guide and covers it key program elements. Several companies (e.g., Asimily, Medigate) have produced software tools designed to help identify, manage and mitigate medical device cybersecurity risks.

HOLMES: The patient care benefits provided by increasingly connected medical devices have also introduced a downside, namely their inclusion in cyber attacks on entire facilities. Unfortunately, traditional IT solutions typically don’t identify these attacks, meaning biomeds must adopt health care-specific protections that monitor potential threats, remove the “noise” often found in older protections, and provide guided response actions to

neutralize and recover from attacks. The Cynerio team introduced such a product with Attack Detection & Response nearly a year ago and continue to lead the charge in protecting medical devices against modern attacks.

KANE: Nessus scanning! Nessus is a remote security tool that scans networks for vulnerabilities. The scans can be applied to any operating system and return the exact vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.

WATERS: Inventory remains the most important tool to aid in the security management.

WESTPHAL: Ordr is a connected device security platform that helps organizations see all devices connected to the network, know the potential vulnerabilities, and secure devices with vulnerability management workflows and automated policy. With Ordr, HTM teams can automate asset discovery and classification, improve accuracy of inventory tools, identify vulnerabilities and work across teams to address vulnerabilities, respond to active threats and proactively improve security.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME CYBERSECURITY FEATURES/ OPTIONS HTM PROFESSIONALS SHOULD LOOK FOR WHEN PURCHASING NEW MEDICAL EQUIPMENT/ DEVICES?

DIMINO: Evaluate the sales proposal and incorporate contract language that aligns with your cybersecurity needs. Include language around the ability to install agents, patching, updates/upgrades, service level agreements (SLAs) and even installation requirements. Hold your vendors accountable, don’t accept insecure and outdated devices when the vendors are installing. Install agents (when applicable), perform vulnerability scans, and have your vendors setup your secure configuration requirements on devices before you accept for clinical use.

GRIMES: When considering the acquisition of new medical devices and systems, health care facilities should require sellers to provide a relevant copy of the Manufacturer Disclosure Statement for Medical Device Security (MDS2). This document is based on a National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) standard and most medical device manufacturers produce a version for each device model they produce. The MDS2 provides information about a medical devices’ security features and vulnerabilities that can help health care facilities place and operate the device in a secure environment.

HOLMES: When purchasing new devices HTM teams should consider both the device-level security as well as

how to securely deploy the devices. A variety of checklists exist, but many Cynerio customers have noted that the recently updated (Nov. 2022) Medical Device Cybersecurity Regional Incident Preparedness and Response Playbook created by the FDA and MITRE provide helpful guidance for every part of device adoption from procurement to incident response.

KANE: Ultimately, your department’s purchasing ability is entirely dependent on your facility’s cybersecurity limits. At a government facility, we employ stricter cybersecurity measures than most private hospitals. Because of this I can’t speak to the latest and greatest cybersecurity options, but I can tell you that knowing the basics matters. Ideally, and many times realistically, what OS can you support? What about antivirus, external network connections, encryption, firewalls? Building a robust cybersecurity program starts with purchasing devices to meet your current infrastructure, and then growing the infrastructure to meet industry standards.

WATERS: First, look for patchability and a commitment from the manufacturer to maintain the product. A system that is difficult to update or upgrade will be become “legacy” sooner. Secondly, make sure any integrations over the network are encrypted. There is a lot of patient data flowing in plain text throughout hospital networks. We need to get past that.

WESTPHAL: HTMs should look to vendors who are committed to providing and maintaining up-to-date details on the operating system and software components of the medical devices they sell. Knowing these details are essential to understanding the risk these devices present in your environment. Insights from vendors should be shared in the form of a comprehensive Software Build of Materials (SBOM) that can be used by tools to operationalize these insights. In addition, vendors should provide regular SBOM updates and communications about vulnerabilities, recalls and available patches/ updates.

Q: WHAT ELSE DO YOU THINK TECHNATION READERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CYBERSECURITY?

DIMINO: Explosive growth of IoMT devices will continue to lead to significant security challenges. HDOs will continue to experience attacks, and eventually patient safety will be compromised in a manner that draws worldwide attention. The problem cannot be solved in ad-hoc bits and pieces. Understandably, HTM alone can’t solve all the challenges, but in a collaborative effort with security/IT and building a medical device security

program you can reduce the risk, likelihood and impact of an attack.

GRIMES: TechNation readers should understand that effective cybersecurity in their organizations requires not only the efforts of CE/HTM professionals but also the collaboration between these professionals and other stakeholders including device users, IT security, facilities management, risk management, supply chain, manufacturers and the organization’s leadership. An effective cybersecurity risk management program will depend on each of these stakeholders being well informed and fully participating in the program in a cohesive and coordinated fashion.

HOLMES: The harsh truth is that attackers may be evil, but they are not ignorant. Cyberattacks on health care continue to grow for simple reasons including lagging adoption of cybersecurity best practices, rapid introduction of insecure devices deployed in insecure manners, and increasing likelihood of paying ransoms to enable continued patient care. As long as the health care industry is seen as the easiest path to revenue, we will continue to see hundreds of successful ransomware attacks, tens of millions of patient records exposed and increasing headlines that erode patient confidence in their local facilities.

KANE: As cliché as it sounds, cybersecurity is an inherently dynamic field. Most of the work is preventative and you always hope it stays that way. However, when incidents do arise, and it’s almost inevitable they will, you want to flatten the impact curve as soon as possible. For better or worse HTM professionals are the subject matter experts for their own devices, so it’s up to each of us to assume this expertise in all forms – cybersecurity included.

WATERS: As medical devices become more integrated, we need to think of them as parts of a system. The more effectively an HTM and IT department can work together the better they can protect the system as a whole while taking into account clinical impact and minimizing disruption to patient care.

WESTPHAL: Cybersecurity threats are continually evolving as are the tools and methods available to protect your environment. Protecting an organization cannot be done in silos or by any single team so it is important to leverage tools that help to bring together insights and teams in support of a whole hospital approach to security.

Have a safe, healthy and lucrative 2022 It's the Doctor's Orders...

Have a safe, healthy and lucrative 2022 It's the Doctor's Orders...

Day and Night - All Year Long

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Medical Equipment Doctor is all settled into our new company-owned offices, warehouse, and service center in Tustin, California. We are here for all your medical equipment needs: Buying - Selling - Renting - Servicing - Connecting.

Medical Equipment Doctor is all settled into our new company-owned offices, warehouse, and service center in Tustin, California. We are here for all your medical equipment needs: Buying - Selling - Renting - Servicing - Connecting.

Medical Equipment Doctor is all settled into our new company-owned offices, warehouse, and service center in Tustin, California. We are here for all your medical equipment needs: Buying - Selling - Renting - Servicing - Connecting.

The Doctor is in... and ready to make this the best year ever.

The Doctor is in... and ready to make this the best year ever.

The Doctor is in... and ready to make this the best year ever.

DATA ANALYTICS

How to improve work flow & save money

By K. Richard Douglas

t the AAMI 2022 eXchange in San Antonio, Texas, a panel discussion “How Data Analytics Can Improve the Efficiency of Your HTM Department” was moderated by Doug Brown, vice president of enterprise development at reLink Medical. Other expert panelists included:

Grant Smith, CRES, BSET, director of radiological engineering at Duke University Health System and Glenn Schneider, CRES, MHSA, director of clinical engineering at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

The discussion began with an overview of the topics that would be covered and the anticipated takeaways. Those takeaways included education, identifying important metrics, ideas for utilizing those metrics, all identified through a panel discussion with industry thought leaders.

It also looked at impediments that might be holding an HTM department back from implementing the suggestions. Those impediments included the time required to mine data, the knowledge required to extract data from CMMS, the condition of the data, the availability of the data, implementing changes based on what was yielded in discovery and benchmarking or comparing the results to other known data sets.

Big data sets can provide all kinds of useful information that can streamline any number of tasks and decisions made in an HTM department. That data may be just sitting there unused after substantial input efforts. The trick is to know what can be done with it and how to go about extrapolating the right data to achieve new levels of efficiency and cost savings.

Depending on an HTM department’s size, some have a dedicated data analyst who can make the best use of the available data.

Brown says that the average hospital is about 48 percent accurate and most employees don’t know how to mine the data or make use of it. He says that data must be both normalized and aggregated.

DIVING INTO THE DATA

During the panel discussion, Smith said that his department currently uses analytics to evaluate travel, labor utilization, in-house teams to determine staffing models. He says that when clinics are added to a system, the analytics help understand travel time to help add staff effectively.

How does an HTM department transition from making little use of data sets to having a robust program of parsing data to bring new efficiencies and cost savings to bear?

“Historically, HTM departments have made decisions based upon anecdotal opinions, not empirical data. The easiest way to begin to utilize the data is to begin by understanding what it tells you. Each HTM department will have different needs and expectations, but in all cases, they can be validated by data,” Brown says.

He says that instead of departments making decisions based upon assumptions, they can now make them based upon facts.

“For example, how many technicians do you need? Are your current technicians efficient? How does your departmental performance compare to other, similar hospitals?” Brown asks.

He says that as frequently stated, the “devil is in the details.” He says that by finding answers to the questions raised, the HTM department must then create a plan to promote change in the department.

“Figuring out where you stand in terms of performance does no good unless you translate that into action that corrects deficiencies; and therein lies the most frequent problem. The HTM departments often stopped at identifying issues and didn’t progress to solving them even though they had the data to do so. Once the data indicates that their PM performance is slower than others in their category, it only helps if they develop an action plan to become more efficient. The issue with what we were doing is that we were able to show them where the issues were, but it was up to management to develop a plan to overcome them,” Brown says.

To prepare for putting that existing data to good use, there is a preparatory step that must occur.

“First the data needs to be scrubbed (standardized) – either hire someone or use your own resourc -

es to establish standard names for the elements of the data (manufacturer, model, description, etcetera). Then, review and correct/eliminate duplicate or non-standard data for your inventory,” Schneider says.

He says that once the data has been cleaned, put safeguards in place to prevent it from re-occurring.

“Minimize the number of people that have access to making changes to specific naming schemes. If possible, establish a person or group who approves any recommended changes to the data controls, then implements those changes, and performs a verification. Perform audits to ensure the team is entering data accurately and completely,” Schneider says.

He says to determine what data points are important to leaders and try to benchmark against similar organizations.

“Most use very similar data points, however, your organization may focus more on the financial aspect, while another may lean towards safety. Evaluate and present the desired data,” Schneider adds.

Employing benchmarks is an important part of the process. Schneider says that several can be used, including “Cost to Service ratio – aka CSR,” “Actual PM time versus book time,” “Contract effectiveness – are we at the correct level of contract based on usage” and “Scope of service” – should we take on more in-house repairs and reduce/drop contract coverage or is it more cost effective to contract more items for repair.”

“Benchmarking can be done on a host of measurements. The key to it is that the SA database has millions of work orders that contribute to their industry averages which makes it inherently more accurate due to the ‘law of large numbers’ … the same strategy employed by life insurance companies when determining life insurance rates,” Brown says.

DATA-DRIVEN STAFFING DECISIONS

How do you use analytics to create manpower planning? How do you best utilize data for making an add-to-staff decision or justifying more hours? Where does that data come from and how is it presented to decision-makers?

“We recently used worked-time data to determine the staffing needs for an addition to our hospital. By running a four-year history of the average time spent on a specific model per year, we could estimate the necessary hours for each new item of the same model. We did that for all equipment that we were adding to our current inventory and used data from others for equipment that we currently didn’t have in our inventory, but were purchasing as a part of the project. Have to have data to justify. It’s often still an estimate, but it’s

supported by historical data,” Schneider says.

We also compare PM time spent by our technicians to others through benchmarking with like organizations. This information is shared with the team to better understand differences and possible opportunities for additional education or overall improvement.

“We developed an algorithm to determine how much time (PM or CM) was required to service any device. By doing this for each device in the hospital inventory, we could derive the number of service hours needed to maintain the equipment. We would then apply the hospital’s expectation of labor accountability (usually around 85 percent) to determine the number of hours required – then assume that a 2,080-hour work-year would result in 1,796 useable hours,” Brown says.

He says that simple math allows you to determine from those inputs how many people you need.

“You then have to account for special projects, training time, meetings, travel between hospitals, etcetera, to arrive at the correct number of FTEs required,” Brown adds.

He says that showing the data – and how you reached your conclusions – to management is defensible because of the accuracy of the data which is “washed” by thousands of hospitals covering millions of work orders. As long as the data being captured is accurate (not always the case) the outcome is pretty accurate, too.

“Interestingly, in a survey of HTM managers at one AAMI conference, I asked each one how they got to their labor budget each year. One-hundred percent of them responded that their budgets were always plus or minus percentages based on the previous year. None of the budgeting processes had any relation to the equipment being managed, including the age and condition of it. It was always based on the previous year and was added to or subtracted from based on the hospitals’ economic performance,” Brown says.

He says that is not a viable way to create a budget.

“Consider an IDN with four hospitals. Three of them are older and are maintaining aged equipment. One of them is newer and has predominantly newer equipment, much of which is under warranty. Logic would tell you that the latter hospital probably requires less manpower to maintain their equipment. Older equipment typically requires more attention. But that would rarely be taken into consideration with the average hospital when considering a budget. Rather, the budget would be a percentage of last year’s budget generally ranging from 96 to 105 percent,” Brown says.

DATA THAT IS UNIFORM

The panel discussion also touched on the importance of standardizing terminology.

How much of a problem is simple nomenclature and what are some other variables that cause problems for normalization? How is this cleaned up? How do you limit choices with dropdowns or other approaches?

“Clean data is an oxymoron in our industry. The average hospital was less than 50 percent accurate on OEM nomenclature — model name, model number and device type (modality). Consider the most common portable X-ray machine. We found over 45 permutations, with one hospital that had it in their CMMS 17 different ways. Trying to do analytics with inaccurate data is self-defeating because – on average – you can only get accurate statistical data on less than half of your inventory,” Brown says.

He says that powerful algorithms were employed that compared the customers’ different adaptations of a device to SA vetted device database which contained millions of correct device nomenclature.

“However, not everything can be determined by an algorithm. For example, if the four required bits of information required (OEM, model name, Model Number, Modality) contains things like “GE, N/A, N/A, Unknown” there is little that can be done to determine what the correct device nomenclature is and it would have to be returned to the customer for them to determine what the device was by serial or hospital tag number,” Brown says.

He says that this manual process could be daunting.

“Consider a medium hospital organization with 25,000 devices spread over four locations. While the algorithm could typically handle 90 percent of the devices, there would still be 2,500 that would require human intervention to locate the device by serial number and determine the correct nomenclature.

“Hospitals that didn’t have the time or manpower to do this were unable to get high-correlation analytics because we were typically only able to work with 50 percent of their devices,” Brown says. In conclusion, the ability to harness available data can serve many useful purposes and aid greatly with efficiencies and budgets.

“The use of data analytics is a part of our future in HTM. Many hospitals have embraced it, but there are many more waiting to see how it might impact them. There is a reluctance, or fear, by some who are concerned they might be behind the performance curve of the average. But how much better it would be to find out where you stand – how you are performing – and create a program to do even better. How much better to be able to approach the C-suite with a plan for improvement and/or a justification for FTEs than to wait for a budget to be given to you that may not be adequate to do your job properly,” Brown says.

He points out that ignorance is not bliss. “We – as an industry – need to be as well-informed as possible and get in front of new trends that will ultimately change the way we’ve done business over the last few decades. The use of analytics is certainly one of those,” Brown adds.

“Historically, HTM departments have made decisions based upon anecdotal opinions, not empirical data. The easiest way to begin to utilize the data is to begin by understanding what it tells you. Each HTM department will have different needs and expectations, but in all cases, they can be validated by data.”

- Doug Brown, VP of Enterprise Development at reLink Medical

CAREER CENTER

Take-Charge Employees Can Learn to Delegate

BY KATHLEEN FURORE

Many high-performing employees share a similar challenge: how to fight the urge to do everything themselves instead of relying on team members for help. How can someone who always takes charge fight the urge to do it all and entrust some tasks to co-workers?

It might be a common problem –but it’s also an unhealthy one, according to Will Ward, founder and CEO of Industry Arabic, a translation company that offers a comprehensive selection of Arabic language services.

“If you’re always fighting the urge to do it all in the workplace, remember that this is an unhealthy practice that can lead to burnout,” Ward cautions.

Here, Ward and Stefanie Smith, who leads the executive consulting and coaching firm Stratex, offer some actionable tips that can make it easier to fight the urge to do it all.

Delegate work before you can get attached to the idea of doing it. The earlier in the process you can do this the better – if possible, even before you’ve committed any thought to it, Ward says.

• Meet with and give guidance to those handling the work.

“If you’re handing off an important task, it might put your mind at ease to have a brief sit-down meeting with the person taking over. This can give you a chance to explain your workflow and the value of completing the work a certain way,” Ward explains. “Giving good guidance to others is a valuable trait to have in the workplace.” He also suggests providing a complimentary “cheat sheet” or guide that your co-worker can utilize if necessary. “This way, you’ll stay out of their work and you can keep your mind off it,” he adds.

• Objectively weigh the rewards against the risks.

“It’s completely rational to resist collaboration if you feel the stakes are high on a project. The risks you perceive may include concern about the other team members missing deadlines or not completing their share to your standards,” Smith says. “If you’re in charge of the initiative, you might understandably worry that these results will reflect negatively on you.”

The best way to address those concerns is to consider the benefits of sharing the stage.

“Think about a solo performer on stage. Now think of the

same performer backed up by a full orchestra,” Smith says. “Sure, there’s a risk that someone may not play their part perfectly. Yet, imagine the benefits of the overall effect.”

Here are just a few of the benefits Smith says sharing the stage can deliver:

It showcases your leadership effectiveness. “The best way to demonstrate your leadership talent is to demonstrate your leadership talent,” she says.

How can you do that? “To integrate others in your project and mitigate failure risk while ensuring open communication and clarity, include them in the brainstorming from the start, and in documenting the action plan,” Smith says. “In fact, if you delegate the plan and tracking to someone else, there can never be any question of whether you communicated it properly. These are responsibilities that when you delegate, you gain further control.”

It can pave the way to promotion. “The proven ability to coordinate the work and talents of other professionals can directly lead to an increase in your compensation. More people involved equals more earning potential for you,” Smith says. “Leading a team and coordinating with other people shows you are ready for an internal promotion.”

It also can add heft to a resume. “You can show a potential new employer you’re ready for a step up, beyond what you can contribute with your own expertise, whether or not you currently have an executive title,” Smith explains.

You’ll gain more impressive results with expanded recognition. The saying “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” holds true here, Smith says. “Yes, involving others means you need to carefully assess whether they will add a diversity of skills, perspectives or network contacts that will bring the success of your project to a higher level,” Smith says.

“But try to put your reticence about sharing the stage aside, for just a moment, and evaluate whether a combined team will yield faster, better or more salable outcomes. Whether you are working on a proposal for your company to invest in more robust data analytics, or pitching a client to expand services, having more people on the team will strengthen your impact, persuasive power and influence.”

Kathleen Furore is a Chicago-based writer and editor who has covered personal finance and other business-related topics for a variety of trade and consumer publications. You can email her your career questions at kfurore@yahoo.com.

20/20 IMAGING INSIGHTS

Testing Your Ultrasound IQ (Intelligence Quotient / Image Quality)

BY TED LUCIDI, CBET

ach week, I personally provide tech support to dozens of Innovatus clients. Topics include why their ultrasound probe needs to be repaired, how the failure might have occurred, why such a minor-looking cosmetic issue requires such invasive work, as well as troubleshooting image quality problems. I just talked with a client who was experiencing image quality problems with one of our loaners and thought that the topic would benefit TechNation readers.

Let’s set the stage. The client exchanged their ultrasound probe (Probe 1), two months earlier. According to an echotech, Probe 1 had performed perfectly and provided clear images for about 1.5 months. Currently, the complaint is that Probe 1 provides grainy images. Innovatus provides a 1-year warranty, so our customer care team set up a warranty order and supplied a loaner (Probe 2). The client received Probe 2 and placed it into service. The following day, the echo-tech placed a service call because Probe 2 had grainy images. Head-scratch.

It’s possible, but highly unlikely, that two probes of the same model would experience the same “graininess” on the same scanner, especially when our loaners are fully restored and classified as finished goods. All products, whether customer- or Innovatus-owned, undergo multiple in-process quality tests, a final outgoing functional test, and are accompanied by a Certificate of Conformance.

Typically, clients send in their product upon receipt of a loaner. In this instance, Probe 1 as well as Probe 2 were still on-site. Should another loaner be sent to address the client’s

concern? At this point, our Customer Care team pulled in Ultrasound Guru Extraordinaire Ted Lucidi who attempted to contact the customer right-away. Ring … Ring … Voicemail … Mailbox Full. I couldn’t even begin a fun game of phone tag.

I sat down, composed my thoughts, and provided the best tech support that email could provide. I re-iterated the scenario above, provided some possible causes, added some troubleshooting tips, and asked for a call back at the client’s convenience. Late the next day … actually today, the client reached out. He and the echo tech did some troubleshooting. Both Probe 1 and Probe 2 provide grainy images on scanner A. There is a scanner down the hall (Scanner B), with another probe of the same model which provides good images. It is believed that Probe 2, when connected to Scanner B, also provided good images. What could be going on?

Assumption 1: Image quality was being tested on a tissue mimicking phantom. It was not. Due to variations in human anatomy, overall image quality should never be assessed using patient images. A tissue mimicking phantom offers consistency and can help remove multiple variables from a diverse and complex troubleshooting tree. Rule 1: Always use a phantom to assess image quality.

Assumption 2: If 2 probes of the same make and model experience similar phenomena when connected to the Scanner A, the issue is most-likely related to Scanner A. To check this assumption, the next step would be to connect both Probe 1 and Probe 2 to Scanner B and perform a side-by-side image quality comparison using identical settings. This requires using two probes of the same exact model, being connected to the same system console, using the same, identical, system settings, imaging on a tissue mimicking phantom. Rule 2: Perform a side-by-side image quality comparison using identical settings

Assumption 3 and 4: Both Scanner A and Scanner B have

identical user presets installed and the same preset is being used on both scanners, and none of the presets have been changed or have become corrupted. This may be difficult to determine without some investigation. A system preset is a single menu selection that pre-configures dozens (if not up to a hundred) user-based settings on the scanner. A preset tailors the scanner’s (and probe’s) performance for a particular patient study. The preset’s name is typically listed in the header of the image, such as carotid, adult echo, or abdominal. The challenge with presets is that they are software based and so they can become corrupted, edited, altered, or even deleted. To rule out more variables, Rule 3: Be sure to assess image quality using a factory, not custom, preset.

Assumption 5: The reported problem follows the probe. It seemed not to, based on our initial conversation. If a side-byside comparison just isn’t possible, another solid tool would be to test the probe on a different, but identical, system console and determine: Does the reported complaint follow the probe. The same rules as above still apply, phantom usage, factory preset, and same system settings. The challenge in this scenario may be locating an identical system. Probe models do cross scanner models, but not all scanner models provide identical system settings, available presets, or level of image quality (example, GE Logiq S8 and Logiq E95). Both systems may support the 9L-D probe, but the image displayed by the same probe model on the two different system models may be inconsistent. The image may

be consistent between the E95s but may not be consistent between differing scanner models.

What do you believe to be the root cause? Send your answers (or questions) to TedL@innovatusimaging.com.

When troubleshooting image quality issues, remember the following rules: 1) Always use a phantom to assess image quality, 2) Be sure to assess image quality using a factory preset, and 3) Perform a side-by-side image quality comparison using identical settings. To rule out a probe/system issue, verify that the reported complaint follows, or remains with, the probe/system.

What we’ve provided merely scratches the surface and helps to establish a strong foundation for troubleshooting basic image quality concerns. The team at Innovatus Imaging has authored multiple how-to guides for assessing image quality, troubleshooting and for performing quality assurance assessments. All are available, at no-charge, in the “Resources” section of our website (innovatusimaging.com). Innovatus Imaging welcomes the opportunity to hold webinars for HTM organizations and professionals that cover this topic and more.

Get Alaris Parts and Repair from the Pump Experts

Ted Lucidi is the director of commercial operations and customer analytics at Innovatus Imaging.

over 35 years, AIV has been providing quality, cost-effective solutions for healthcare facilities.

RIGHT TO REPAIR

How is a CT Scan like a Combine Harvester?

Agricultural milestone contains lessons for the medical movement.

BY KEVIN O’REILLY

Believe it or not, biomeds share a common cause with farmers. Both serve critical roles in keeping our country running. Both have to think on their feet and act quickly when trouble strikes. And, when it comes to my work and the subject of this column, both are key advocates in the push for right to repair.

Right to repair is an issue that ranges from ventilators to vacuums, from CT scans to combine harvesters. In this broad campaign, my other priority is to push for farmers’ freedom to fix their own tractors.

I’m proud to say that we reached a major milestone in the agricultural right to repair campaign – along with the farmers and other repair advocates I work with, we were able to build enough pressure to force John Deere to act.

The American Farm Bureau Federation and Deere signed an agricultural Right to Repair agreement in January. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) comes after years of campaigning from PIRG, farmers and other repair advocates.

The MOU states that Deere will provide farmers and – at the request of a farmer– independent mechanics, with “Tools, Specialty Tools, Software and Documentation,” that the company provides to its dealers.

There are some major caveats and questions that remain here. A corporate “vow” lacks the enforcement of regulation. Ag equipment manufacturers have fallen short on previous commitments. And there is a chance that the language of the MOU contains large enough loopholes that farmers won’t have complete repair independence from Deere and its dealers.

For all those reasons, we’re still pushing legislation to make sure that farmers using all brands of equip -

ment can fix 100% of the problems with their tractors.

Nonetheless, we were able to force a titan of agricultural industry, one that has been a vocal opponent to right to repair reforms, to acknowledge that repair restrictions are a problem that needs solving.

What can the medical right to repair movement learn from our farmer friends’ success?

By nailing the technical facts, organizing frustrated farmers, and making our case again and again, we’ve been able to achieve a bigger outcome: winning over public opinion.

If we’re going to take on the biggest corporate opponents in the medical device field – and win –we’re going to need to do the same.

NAILING THE TECHNICAL FACTS

In essentially every state where there has been an agricultural right to repair bill, there has been a manufacturer or dealer rep there to testify that there is no problem that needs to be solved. For a long time, they pointed to a 2018 agreement to provide certain (but not comprehensive) diagnostic tools as the panacea to all farmers’ fixing woes.

By working with farmers and partners from our coalition, I was able to write a report outlining how modern farm equipment is engineered to restrict independent repair and how the industry promise was going to come up short. By working with reporters at VICE who had long been on the right to repair beat, we were able to expose how manufacturers had failed to meet their already-lacking commitment. We have the receipts to show the truth of the matter, which I have no doubt had a role in the MOU addressing issues unsolved by the 2018 agreement.

ORGANIZING FRUSTRATED FARMERS

You can have all the facts and figures you want – if you don’t have compelling stories to demonstrate the impact of the problem, I can all but guarantee you will

not run a successful campaign. Not only are stories key to making the emotional argument, but farmers are the ones who actually feel the impact of the problem. Their voices need to be elevated above all others.

I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with courageous folks including Jared Wilson, Walter Schweitzer and Scott Potmesil, whose stories have been critical to our ability to show the ridiculous and real consequences that repair restrictions cause. Our campaign goes nowhere without these and hundreds of other farmers who are brave enough to stand up and speak out.

MAKING OUR CASE HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE

Our coalition has pushed for tractor right to repair in more than a dozen states, in Congress, with the Federal Trade Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency. We’ve used those efforts, our research and farmer stories to make our argument in the media.

This is not to say that you need to fight on every possible front. A well-formulated strategy is key to any successful campaign. But we have been tireless in our search for opportunities to push forward – whether through potential paths to victory or ways to get our message out to more people.

WINNING THE PEOPLE

Powerful interests can outlobby and outspend you, but there’s no sum of money that can defeat strong public opinion. People of all political stripes overwhelmingly support agricultural right to repair, though many did not know about it. Through our work, we were able to identify the folks that agree with us to join our cause and help convince decision makers – as well as those undecided on the issue – to do the right thing.

If we’re going to win on medical right to repair, we’re going to need to win the people. Can you help us nail the technical facts, such as what repair restrictions cost our health care system? Do you have a compelling story to share? Do you want to organize an effort to convince your lawmakers to support the effort?

Join our list (tinyurl.com/5n8ybhfw) and drop me a note. Let’s get to work.

Kevin O’Reilly is PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign director. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

April 11–13, 2023 • Houston, TX

May 11-12, 2023

Registration open mdexposhow.com

The Woodlands Waterway Marriot Houston, TX

MD Expo strives to provide healthcare technology management professionals with a unique, intimate and rewarding conference second to none. Clinical engineers, biomedical technicians, directors and managers, procurement/asset managers and others responsible for medical technology will gather in a one-of-a-kind warm and welcoming environment to network with peers, learn the latest technologies and advances in HTM. Find out what everyone has been talking about; this is one event you can’t afford to miss!

APRIL 11-13

htmmixer.com

Turf Valley Resort Baltimore, MD

What are HTM Mixers? Think of them as MD Expo 2.0 – a slightly modified, smaller, shorter-duration and less-crowded event that still provides valuable continuing education, networking and vendor engagement opportunities. HTM Mixers were created during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic when larger events were not possible. The mixers were a hit and served as a regional conference for HTM professionals eager to earn continuing education credits, explore solutions in an exhibit hall and network with peers.

MAY 11-12

Periop CONNECT

September 8-9, 2023

periopconnect.com

Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale New Haven, CT

OR Today is proud to have the support of AORN Connecticut Chapter 0701 for the inaugural Periop ConneCT conference to be held September 8-9, 2023 at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. Join perioperative professionals throughout Connecticut and New England for CE-accredited education, exhibits with leading vendors, and great networking events.

Atlanta Evergreen Lakeside Resort

Stone Mountain, GA

Georgia Council of periOperative Registered Nurses is the collective voice of Georgia Chapters of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN). Our mission is to advocate for excellence in perioperative practice and healthcare in Georgia as we unite and empower perioperative nurses.

Caribe Royale Orlando

Orlando, FL

MD Expo strives to provide healthcare technology management professionals with a unique, intimate and rewarding conference second to none. Clinical engineers, biomedical technicians, directors and managers, procurement/asset managers and others responsible for medical technology will gather in a one-of-a-kind warm and welcoming environment to network with peers, learn the latest technologies and advances in HTM.

Find out what everyone has been talking about; this is one event you can’t afford to miss!

CYBERSECURITY The

Wi-Fi Danger Zone - Pitfalls of Guest/Public Wireless

BY NADIA ELKAISSI, CHTM, AND EMMA C. NEHRING

icture this: A health care staff member notified your healthcare technology management (HTM) department that a medical camera monitor, in an ICU patient room, started moving on its own and sporadically shutting down.

After the HTM department sequestered the device, it was found that the equipment did not have the proper firmware to protect the equipment from cyberattacks, and the password was disabled. In addition, an unusual software was installed on the device. Based on the investigation, one of the major outliers was that the device was utilizing the guest Wi-Fi for connectivity. Something seemingly as innocent as a guest Wi-Fi had far more reaching implications.

Globally, there is a strong demand for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, particularly in the medical field. In fact, CISCO predicted that the number of networked devices is expected to increase from 18 billion, calculated in 2018, to approximately 30 billion in 2023. Unfortunately, the improvement of interoperability adds its own set of risks that many manufacturers may not take into consideration. Take the baby monitor for example. The device is an appealing type of equipment due to its size, ease of installation and cost effectiveness. While the impressive features may convince it to be a good sell, many were found to have minimal security layers which flagged the devices as a significant security threat. Some of the equipment was even found to have no encryption for video feeds, hard coded passwords that are easily hackable and limited user authentication which would allow anyone to add user accounts. The number of vulnerabilities found in new IoT devices are constantly growing and, therefore, requires an equal emphasis on the importance of ensuring medical devices are managed and secured on a controlled network.

Some may pose the question, “Does it matter what wireless network you use if both provide network

connectivity?” The short answer is, “Yes.” The guest Wi-Fi is a public Wi-Fi which allows any wireless device to connect with little network monitoring. The minimal security layers may open the door for hackers and provide an easy access to other connected devices. It is because of this potential risk that hospitals or corporations typically uses a private network. A private network is a trusted network which goes the extra step to decrease unnecessary connections, increase security, speed and give a scalable network. The network also gives the network administration the ability to segregate devices into Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN) and implement vulnerability management with all devices on the network. The separation allows for the overall network to be protected if one system or device is exposed to cyber-attacks. A private network also will typically have additional layers of firewalls and/or Access Control Lists (ACLs) to control the network traffic between devices/systems. The end goal is to limit the outside connections and/or subnets, advance with caution and apply the highest security measures possible to ensure data protection. Developing a list of allowable Internet Protocols (IPs), ports/ protocols, and implementing a vulnerability management system are some of the important steps to have proper cybersecurity hygiene.

Now, you may still be saying, “If my phone was hacked using the guest Wi-Fi, it wouldn’t be that big a deal. I just have Lord of the Rings pictures when I went to New Zealand.” The issue some do not realize is that the methods used by ransomware to infect computers/ systems can come in several forms. The majority of Internet-connected devices have the potential for vulnerabilities, and hackers can potentially use a phone or computer as the gateway to other systems.

In addition, network cyber-attacks are becoming more prevalent in medical workplaces due to the increased connections required to develop the “oh, so beautiful” and necessary network infrastructure. The interoperability is an important aspect for medical staff, since it provides products that are easy and reliable to manage items such as records, diagnose patients and monitor results. An example can be shown with one of the most

popular networked medical devices in a hospital, the hospital infusion pump. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), published information about the potential cybersecurity risks for facilities that have infusion pumps. The publications expanded on the systems cybersecurity vulnerabilities which, if attacked, could lead to access of patient data, manipulation of equipment functions, compromise of SSID password (allowing lateral movement through the network), and modifying doses.

Although patches have been developed to remediate many of the vulnerabilities, if facilities are not diligent to ensuring the systems are protected, the results may directly impact patient safety and have the potential to expose patient data. It is increasingly important to make sure that remediations of vulnerabilities and monitoring of networked devices are ongoing to ensure the safety of our patients and their confidentiality. Focusing on firewalls, Access Control Lists (ACLs), user authentication, elevated privileges, and encryption, are a few that will help secure your network. The likelihood of a cyber-attack happening at a company or hospital is only growing, and the only way to shy away hackers is by securing your wireless networks.

The health care field has an important job when protecting medical devices, which starts with controlling the use of the public network to ensure maximum cybersecurity. The first step is securing the guest Wi-Fi and limiting a guest’s temporary Internet access. Ideally, the guest Wi-FI and hospital or company Wi-Fi are wholly different networks. Guests using the guest Wi-Fi in a hospital or company shouldn’t have access to the hospital’s private network. This separation can be achieved by firewall or ACL rulesets to block any unwanted traffic to the other networks such as untrusted websites, apps and downloads.

In addition to enforcing authentication, the bandwidth can be controlled to ensure the Wi-Fi is used for the right purpose. Guest should only require approximately 25 Mbps to browse the Internet, use social media and send emails. As the number of networked devices and cyber threats increase and evolve, it is our job as HTM professionals to secure these devices to the best of our ability and to protect the patients and end users. While it is easier to connect networked devices to the guest Wi-Fi, ease cannot be compared to the security risks if the devices were compromised. Ensuring appropriate User Acceptance notices (splash pages) are posted, providing more staff training on guest Wi-Fi and other safeguards will help improve the security of the network.

Diag nos t ic Solut ion s i s a c u s tome r se r v ice ba se d pa r t s pr ov ide r t hat s pe c ia l i ze s i n a l l i mag i ng mod a l it ie s a nd manufacturers. Created to offer hos pita l s a nd I SO’s a cos t ef fe c t i ve a nd t i me sav i ng solut ion for or de r i ng i mag i ng r e place me nt pa r t s , e qu ipme nt move s , u lt r a sou nd pr obe r e pa i r a nd on-site se r v ice

Contac t u s today, we a re conf ident you w i l l see u s a s T H E Pa r t s Solut ion! diagnostic-solutions.com 330.296.9729

Nadia ElKaissi, CHTM, is the chief engineer at Charles George VA Medical Center.

Emma C. Nehring is a biomedical engineer at Charles George VA Medical Center.

THE FUTURE Never Too Young to Hear About HTM

BY JOIE N. MARHEFKA

Irecently attended a STEM program that was hosted by a local hospital. A group of students visited monthly to hear speakers and participate in STEM-focused programming. The focus of this month’s session was engineering. I had the opportunity to present on clinical engineering/healthcare technology management (HTM). The participants were a group of seventh graders, who were quite attentive and asked many good questions. In addition to my presentation and one given by another engineer, the students participated in a number of hands-on engineering related activities.

The kids clearly enjoyed the day’s events, and I am hopeful that they took some new knowledge home with them. One thing that I hope the kids learned is that HTM is an exciting career field that offers many benefits and opportunities. I am confident that I am not alone in my belief that one of the challenges in filling positions in the HTM field is that so many people have no idea that this field even exists. Therefore, I feel that it is important to talk with groups of students and others about opportunities in HTM and do so any chance I get. Most of the time, the presentations that I give and conversations that I have focus on high school students, but talking with younger students offers the opportunity to plant a seed in their heads before they start thinking about college and making real plans for careers.

In addition to participating in programs like I recently did, I often go to high schools to speak about the field and careers. We also host open house type events at Penn State New Kensington, where we provide information about our biomedical engineering technology major to high school students and to adults considering career changes. This fall, we also had groups of students from several high schools visit our campus, tour our labs and talk

with current students and faculty about our program and the opportunities it offers. I also know that several local hospitals have been having high school students visit for group tours or to spend a few hours shadowing. I believe that these types of experiences are essential in recruiting new students and eventually new employees to fill vacancies in HTM. Therefore, I plan to continue holding events for high school students and hope that others do too.

However, I also see great value in talking with younger kids about HTM and the opportunities that it presents. While it will, of course, be a while until they can have real impact on the industry, it is never too early to expose them to new ideas for their future careers. I often hear young kids say they want to be a doctor or nurse or teacher when they grow up. And while we certainly need more doctors, nurses and teachers, I believe it is important that we teach these kids about other types of careers. Of course, my focus is careers in HTM, and it is my goal to get kids excited about the possibility of working in this field. AAMI has worked to address this by including a presentations for middle school students as a part of its HTM in a box. When working with younger kids, I strive to include fun, interactive activities along with information about the field. My goal is to participate in more events for middle school and elementary school students and to introduce HTM to them. I will work to build their enthusiasm. I’m hopeful that this will pay off in the long term and help to create the next generation of HTM professionals.

Joie N. Marhefka, Ph.D., is the biomedical engineering technology program coordinator at Penn State New Kensington.

UNIFYING MEDICAL DEVICE CYBERSECURITY IN YOUR ORGANIZATION

BY MATT DIMINO, MBA, CISM, CRISC

n the current threat landscape, IoMT/OT/IoT is an attractive target for cybercriminals. Unfortunately, security projects to thwart these threats and address the risks often take a backseat to other security initiatives, are very slow to adopt, or fail entirely due to cost, complexity, and poor planning. Concurrently, strategies tend to be developed within silos, accountability is often nonexistent, ownership is unclear, and the perceived risk is high, but little or no proactive actions are taken. As we continue to see widespread attacks, we remain hindered by staffing shortages and knowledge gaps, often prohibiting HTM from doing anything more than PMs and CMs.

Many assumed that with the rise in ransomware and other cyberattacks, organizations would be more adept at putting forth the resourcing necessary to withstand this crisis. Even with anecdotal evidence of increased morbidity and even mortality due to diversion of patient care from cyberattacks, we have seen little evidence of drastic changes occurring with our OEMs and HDOs. With the astonishing breadth of attacks on HDOs, security investments don’t reflect the magnitude of risk, prohibiting spending on IoMT device security and leaving organizations open to a debilitating attack.

Those who recognize the importance of investing in a solution often do so by procuring a tool. While indeed a strategic and rational decision, these

projects often face significant challenges regarding implementation, value realization, and operationalization, which can negate the “solution” aspect of these tools. Today’s cybersecurity tools are expansive in their domain, stretching across numerous stakeholder modalities, are incredibly resourceful, and should be a foundational part of your cybersecurity practice. Still, they are not a complete solution without assurance and process integration with people.

In an ecosystem of unmanaged, ubiquitous computing devices, we obscure the ability to address security and privacy concerns because most HTM departments simply don’t know where to start. For some HTM departments, considerable forces push you forward with little direction. Others lack support and sponsorship, limiting any actual capability of success and maturity. It’s no secret HTM resources are scarce. While some are fortunate enough to obtain a unicorn or promote from within, this doesn’t account for medical device security, nor will it solve your security problems. Why? Because medical device security is solved by creating a program with leadership sponsorship, strategic alignment, risk management, value delivery, resource management, performance measurement, education, governance, cultural changes, and by operationalizing processes and efforts. A single individual taking orders from IT/ IS solves very little towards reducing risk.

With over 3.2 million IoMT devices deployed in HDO’s as of 2021, how will a single resource at a hospital solve your security challenges? It simply

won’t happen, and here’s why. Your resource will have limited oversight, almost no decision-making abilities, mundane tasks assigned to them, their job description likely won’t reflect what they are doing, and they have limited education and resources. In this converged, intricate environment of interconnected devices, security must be holistic and governed by unity. Medical device security must be centralized, identifying risks and prioritizing efforts with processes and guidelines in place, a clear reporting structure, a strategy and roadmap that all understand and agree to, and the ability to adapt and change when processes aren’t working.

A program is the most necessary component of addressing medical device cybersecurity. The program’s purpose is to execute the strategy and reduce risk to acceptable levels. That’s right, reduce risk, not run around attempting to patch everything, perform exasperating risk assessments, and chase vulnerabilities deep into rabbit holes. A roadmap is another crucial element constructed based on the strategy and consists of a set of high-level objectives or goals and desired outcomes with a plan to achieve them. The strategy and roadmap should be created

by leadership. Your Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is the most likely candidate to put these pieces together, but they are most likely not an expert in medical devices and may not fully understand the capabilities and limitations of medical device security; therefore, HTM involvement in the creation of the program is necessary.

A core component of a medical device security program is strategic alignment, which can be accomplished through a medical device security steering committee. This is a prime opportunity for HTM to engage with IT, Security, and other stakeholders to build out the tactical and operational pieces of the strategy. This is where HTM can bring their A-team and work collaboratively rather than taking orders. Within the steering committee, members can highlight and discuss medical device security risks, selection, and application of appropriate controls, agree on processes and service levels, and define financial, operational, and other constraints. This committee will work to create optimal metrics, report on action items that can be delivered to executive leadership, address new risks or capabilities and build rapport with business units while creating a

new culture conducive to cybersecurity resilience.

The diverse elements and activities that make up the medical device security program require various internal and external resources to achieve the objectives. Resources may already exist or need to be outsourced to external service providers. In the context of outsourcing, I am referencing outsourcing some or all of the medical device security program, not the HTM department. Building a program internally will take years, and many misinterpret the resourcing needs and costs necessary to build. Buying a program creates instant value delivery and resource optimization. Prebuilt programs can come with framework mappings, policies and procedures, performance measurement metrics, service level agreements, program guides, and steering committee oversight.

It’s no secret that medical device security is complex, but First Health Advisory is an industry leader in helping organizations build these programs

and optimize their security tools. Our approach is flexible, from fully operationalizing a cyber Center of Excellence (CoE) to utilizing hybrid models to guide and drive HTM and the organization to success. Our programs encompass the use of your or our HTM technicians to operationalize cybersecurity. We have unique capabilities beyond others with training and development, patching strategies and automation, vulnerability management, incident response, governance, and risk management.

To learn more, visit firsthealthadvisory.com.

Matt Dimino, MBA, CISM, CRISC, is the CSO-Clinical & Operational Technology at First Health Advisory.

THE VAULT

Do you consider yourself a history buff? Are you widely regarded among coworkers as an equipment aficionado? Here is your chance to prove it! Check out “The Vault” photo. Tell us what this medical device is and earn bragging rights. Each person who submits a correct answer will be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card. To submit your answer, visit 1TechNation.com/vault-March-2023. Good luck!

FEBRUARY PHOTO

Porta Lung

MARCH PHOTO

BULLETIN BOARD

An online resource where medical equipment professionals can find all the information needed to help them be more successful! The Bulletin Board is easy to navigate; giving you access to informative blogs, expos and events, continuing education opportunities, and a job board. Visit MedWrench.com/BulletinBoard to find out more about this resource. Follow MedWrench on facebook.com/medwrench & linkedin.com/company/medwrench!

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Visit MedWrench.com/BulletinBoard for more details and to register for these upcoming classes.

March 27-31, 2023

Contrast Injector Service Training Course

UPCOMING EXPOS & EVENTS

Join the MedWrench team in Houston, TX.!

April 11-13, 2023

Join HIMSS in Chicago, IL for their annual conference!

April 17-21, 2023

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April 17-28, 2023

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April 17-21, 2023

Aquilion Prime Training Class

CAN YOU FIX IT?

154,000+ registered users on to find manuals, ask questions in live forums, and find service companies.

BIOMED BRAINBUSTER

8 Priority in health organizations: establishing the right to _____

1 Sharing wisdom

2 ___ of strength

14 System set up with a database to record and manage all events in a computer system,

3 Strike and rebound

4 Skill

5 Internet crimes on the increase

6 Involving or producing an increase pressure

8 Priority in health organizations: right to _____

9 Hospitals for vets, abbr.

17

TECHNATI N P LL

Professional of the Month, Shifting Gears and Department of the Month!

We’d love to feature you, your colleague or the entire department in one of TechNation’s monthly features! 1 Think of a Biomed/CE Department deserving of recognition. Scan the QR code or email editor@mdpublishing.com.

We will contact you for additional information if your nomination is accepted! 3

SPOTLIGHT RICHARDDOUGLAS

network.Witheighthospitals,anacademicinstituteand2,509 operatingbeds,HoustonMethodistincludes27,947employees,withmanyworkinginbiomed.The85-memberbiomedicalengineeringdepartmentisled SystemDirector AnthonyMaroulis.Othermembersofleadershipinclude CampusDirectorofClinicalEngineeringMarcBateman, ManagersofClinicalEngineeringTerresaEverhart,Javier Ruiz,MiguelMezaandCoreaunJacksonandProgram CoordinatorsBrandonHightandNathanStathos.Theteam’s clinicalengineersincludeZachSmith,CristianDelgado, BailynPiecewiczandHaniKhalil.Thedepartmentalso consists twoadministrationassistants,fivebiomed equipmenttechleads,23biomedequipmenttechIIs,23 biomedequipmenttechIIIs,15biomedequipmenttech 4 biomedradiologyserviceengineersand dataentry specialist.Batemansaysthatthebiomedteamservicesmorethan 91,000medicaldevicesin-housethanks theexceptional

TechNation February2023 2302-TN.indd 12 1/6/23 U.S. submarine can with 15,000 pounds food at beginning deployAerosol cans, as deodorant hair are not authorized to be brought The submariners is unique many Submariwhen underway, operate eight-hour shifts. tight community. Submariners also lot of knowledge as part submarine. ability and compretranslates other professions; including served the Navy until getting U.S. Navy, for job as biomed technician in Chicago, however taking job as service technician 2002,” Sanlin, BMET Banner Baywood and Heart Banner Mesa, Sanlin says 2009, he was from the service technician job and he for a job maintenance technician. day, he call biomed asking him to interview position maintenance technician. hired years later, Tech III and managing biomeds facilities,” says. has combined biomed from days with on-the-job training study to he today. hired to beds and When working on started doing on equipment and reading manuals, expanding my knowledge of biomed equipment and operations. Also, gained biomed knowledge during time in the U.S. on the submarine,” he says. military experience provided foundation for he does have my military in electronics, which helpful, my experience as submariner, gave me ability to absorb required information to biomed tech,” Sanlin AND The accumulated that led current position resulted in responsibility overseeing biomeds four campuses his health system. That has several managed two upgrades telemonitor My knowledge of the Philips system during last upgrade Banner Baywood helped complete the upgrade record time ahead of identified that resolved to upgrade. this time, managing replacement nurse call three hospitals (Baywood, and Goldfield) facilities. Changing from West-Com ASCOM system, which million-dollar project. just completed BD Alaris firmware to 2,600 of Alaris LVP PCU on time medium staff,” says. in personnel also required to step up challenge. losing my and shop in 30-day period, had up and the shop PROFESSIONAL OF THE MONTH Larry Sanlin, BMET III From the Ocean Floor to Tech III RICHARD DOUGLAS SPOTLIGHT A February

WorldWar acepilot,BaronManfredVonRichthofen,aka,TheRedBaron. stillhavemany mygrandinma’strophiesfromdragracingwhenshecompeted Ft.thePowderPuffWomen’sDragRacingSeries Worthin late1960sandearly1970sbeforewasborn,”Barronsays. Barronsaysthathetriestoattendeventsclose

ablesellinghimoneof bikesandhelpedBarrongetlicensedshortlyafteron Suzukiheboughtin 2011. alwayshadafamilymemberridinganything twofromHondaCR125s,SuzukiRM250,YamahaYZ490 interestedstrokedirtbikesgrowingup,butalwaysstayed thedragstripwhenwatchingmydad,uncles,grandpa,cousinsracemany nightsand playingorridingaroundin pits,”Barronremembers. suburbHesaysthatin1985,thefamilyrelocatedfrom FortWorthtoWaxahachie,Texas.Waxa-hachiejusthappenedtobe10minutesfrom nationaldragstrip,built formerNHRAfunnycardriverBillyMeyer,whichwascompleted 1986. “Itseemedlike wasmydestiny continue the goingtraditionofourfamily’sdragracinghistoryafter thefirstnationaleventheldthereandnever missedanopportunitysince.Allmyfamily,including immenselykids,raceddownthatstripincompetition. proud thefourgenerationsofdragracersthatstartedbefore wasbornwithmygrandpaHis1970,”Barronsays. coupesgrandpaanddadhadmatching1939Chevy Barron,”theyracedunderthemoniker“TheRed playontheir nametakenfromthe famousWorldWar pilot. Snoopy“Irememberseeingthepaintedcoupeswith flying doghouseonthesides. rememTelemetry AIV aiv-inc.com • 888-656-0755 61 P P Elite Biomedical Solutions elitebiomedicalsolutions.com • 855-291-6701 59 P P Medical Equipment Doctor, INC. www.medicalequipdoc.com • 800-285-9935 53 Multimedical Systems www.multimedicalsystems.com • 888-532-8056 42 P USOC Bio-Medical Services www.usocmedical.com • 855-888-8762 3 P P Test Equipment BC Group International, Inc www.BCGroupStore.com • 314-638-3800 BC P P Pronk Technologies, Inc. www.pronktech.com • 800-609-9802 2, 44 Southeastern Biomedical, Inc sebiomedical.com/ • 828-396-6010 27 P P Tubes/Bulbs Tri-Imaging Solutions www.triimaging.com • 855-401-4888 7 P P Ultrasound AllParts Medical www.allpartsmedical.com • 866-507-4793 25 P P Innovatus Imaging www.innovatusimaging.com • 844-687-5100 8 ISS Solutions ISSsolutions.com • 800-752-2290 6 P Medical Equipment Doctor, INC. www.medicalequipdoc.com • 800-285-9936 53 Ventilators Medical Equipment Doctor, INC. www.medicalequipdoc.com • 800-285-9918 53 SakoMED sakomed.com • (844) 433-7256 29 P P X-Ray AllParts Medical www.allpartsmedical.com • 866-507-4793 25 P P Innovatus Imaging www.innovatusimaging.com • 844-687-5100 8 RSTI www.rsti-training.com • 800-229-7784 5 P P P Tri-Imaging Solutions www.triimaging.com • 855-401-4888 7 P P P 80 TechNation | March 2023

racing theMotorplexontheweekends. was helpinghimcrewand gotsomeseattimehereand there on some faster bikes rode for some teamsandinDivision4,thenstartedracingsomeETbrackets grudgeraces thelate’90s,”Barronsays.2010,hewasintroducedto prostock motorcycleclassby mutualacquaintanceoftheUnderdahlRacingfamily. “When approachedthem theFallNationalsTexas,andaskedwhatitwouldtake transitiontoprostockmotorcycle,GregUnderdahltoldme neededtosee couldhandle bikeofthatmagni-beras kidwatchingtheCharlieBrownandPeanutsserieswhereSnoopyoftendreamed fightingthe

“If you know that it’s hard to run a hospital without medical equipment, you should also know that it’s impossible to maintain them without Biomedical Engineers.”

#IamTechNation

J oin us as we celebrate the TechNation community. You - each and every reader, Webinar Wednesday attendee, HTM Jobs user and MD Expo attendee - are the most important part of the TechNation community. Share a photo of yourself, a colleague or the entire biomed team on social media and tag it with #IamTechNation. Then, check each issue of the magazine to see yourself and all of the men and women that are TechNation.

Photos by Peggy Dossey and Derrick Cole

The Clinical Engineering Department at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital kicks off 2023 with a pizza party.

Photo by Hamidsha Shahudeen

- Hamidsha Shahudeen

Photo by CEAI

CEAI had a gathering at TopGolf, sponsored by USOC Medical and Avantik!

The AA-8100 is a compact and easy-to-use anesthetic agent analyzer with high reliability and accuracy.

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The AA-8100 features an Auto Agent ID or manual one button selection of the agent to be analyzed. It also has a one button control over the sampling pump.