Ampronix Inc Receives TÜV Certification
Ampronix Inc(Irvine, Calif) has been recognized by TÜV America with independent third-party certification for ISO 9001:2000 and ANSI/ESD S20.20 simultaneously. This comes just a few weeks prior to Ampronix’s 24th anniversary.

Certified by TÜV America, the Ampronix ISO 9001 certification stands out as a major achievement. ISO 9001 is a generic system standard that specifies, in very broad terms, the necessary components of a quality-management system. Rather than being specific to any oneindustry, it details the basic requirements of the quality function for all industries. ISO 9001’s primary purpose is to provide organizations with useful, internationally recognized models for operating a quality-management system. ISO 9001:2000 is the current version of this standard.

Simultaneously, Ampronix asked TÜV America to provide an examination and certification for ESD compliance. This ESD certification provides additional quality assurance through its close safeguarding of all of the high-end electronics and technology that passes through the hand of Ampronix, whether for sale or service.

Siemens Leaders Secure Key Industry Roles
Siemens Medical Solutions (Malvern, Pa) has announced the appointment of several executives to key industry-leadership roles:

Charlene Underwood, director, government and industry affairs, Healthcare IT Division, was elected to a second term as chairperson of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Electronic Health Record Vendors Association.

Don Rucker, MD, VP, and chief medical officer, was appointed to the National Alliance for Health Information Technology Clinical Advisory Group.

Hans Buitendijk, senior product manager, Healthcare IT Division, was elected director-at-large to the Health Level Seven Inc (HL7)Board for a second time for the 2006 and 2007 calendar years.

Sam Brandt, MD, VP, and chief medical informatics officer, Healthcare IT Division, was elected to the HL7 Advisory Committee for the 2006 and 2007 calendar years.

Don Bechtel, chief privacy officer, Healthcare Data Exchange, a Siemens Medical Solutions company, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel to represent ANSI-Accredited Standards Committee X12. Bechtel cochairs the X12N health care task group, which develops and maintains the financial and administrative health care transactions used by the insurance industry for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and other purposes.

“Hero Kits” Available Online
Health care facilities that operate magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography equipment, SPECT cameras, rad rooms, mammography, and other imaging systems know that equipment has to stay up and running to be profitable. If a part fails—particularly on systems more than a few years old—finding the right replacement part can be difficult and a time-critical issue. GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wis) has come up with a solution: “Hero Kits,” now available through DOTmed.com.

GE Healthcare takes decommissioned systems and breaks them down into their component parts. The systems can be any brand, such as Philips, Toshiba, Picker, to name just a few. These “Hero Kits” contain the key components a system usually needs. When a part is needed, users can go to their storage room and grab it instead of starting a panicked hunt at used parts dealers. Equipment can be backed up in hours, instead of days or weeks.

DOTmed.com usually has 10 to 15 “Hero Kits” online for auction at any time. These kits are featured on its home page. To see what’s available now, visit www.dotmed.com.

Paging Through History
600 AD:The first Parisian hospital, the Hotel Dieu, is established in Paris. It still remains today.
1100s AD:The first medical schools are established in Europe.
1590 AD: The compound microscope is introduced by Janssens.

META Transitions to Paid Memberships
The Medical Equipment and Technology Association (META)has recently decided to initiate paid memberships. For most members, it will cost a nominal $15 to join for a year. The association now has three membership levels:

Individual—for those with 1 year of experience who are engaged in the development of technologies; Associate—for those who do not meet the experience requirement but would still like to join; and Student—for full-time students (the fee is $15 for 2 years).

The online membership application can be found at META’s Web site: www.mymeta.org.