Is a lack of medical engineers putting lives at risk?

In 2013, over 13,000 incidents were reported to the UK regulator relating to faulty medical equipment, which led to over 300 deaths and almost 5000 serious injuries.

The technology used in hospitals is becoming increasingly complex, and so the danger of improperly calibrated and validated equipment is also increasing. Even the miscalibration of basic equipment has huge implications - incorrectly calibrated weighing scales can lead to patient being given an incorrect dosage of medication.

Lead author Dr Patrick Finlay said: "This report demonstrates some of the exciting ways engineers can revolutionise healthcare through, for example, new low-invasive treatments to sense, measure and manipulate the human body; or by developing novel ways of tracking and monitoring personal health through mobile phone apps. In order to reap the full benefits that technological advances can offer UK healthcare - and the NHS specifically - the people who design, make, maintain and use these pieces of equipment need to be heard."

Automation and robotics has vast potential in the medical industry and it is to be expected that our readership will progressively increase in this area over time. An interesting example is Surrey-based FreeHand 2010, which markets a robotic camera controller for minimally invasive surgery for laparoscopic, urological and cardiopulmonary procedures. Unfortunately, it is an exception, as an aversion to early-stage investment in "medtech” companies prevails generally in Europe. It contrasts with experience in the USA, where significant numbers of new medical robotic companies have raised generous capital amounts from private investors or by flotation on the Nasdaq market.

By coincidence, at about the same time as attending the IMechE press conference, I visited Heidenhain in Burgess Hill, not far from our offices in East Grinstead. The company makes encoders and can measure lengths on the nanometre scale, as is required by the latest machine tool control systems. With few UK-based manufacturers of machine tools, and with much automation equipment not requiring measurement to this level of accuracy, the company is keen to find other outlets for its advanced technology. Almost by chance, through the local chamber of commerce, the company is now working with a local manufacturer of radiology equipment, where the need to destroy tumours without causing collateral damage to nearby healthy cells benefits from maximum accuracy.

All in all, we live - and get treated - in exciting times, but once again are we in danger of missing the boat?