There are some 7000 registered physiotherapists per 10 million head of population in the EU, almost all of them using therapeutic ultrasound upon patients.?It can be estimated from a number of surveys that unfortunately 70% of the devices used do not comply with the relevant standard for accuracy in output which states: actual output shall be within +/-20% of that indicated on the device. Extreme cases have often been reported where machines in use are delivering effectively no ultrasound or up to many factors greater than the amount indicated.
This creates patient injury problems as well as mistreatment. To address this problem the project plans to:
- Develop an ultrasound power standard, presently being exclusively developed for European national standards laboratories, into a robust and portable form. The power standard would include a Cavitation Detector to determine the onset of adverse measuring conditions. The power standard would be suitable for conducting in-the-field proficiency testing of small companies, hospitals and manufacturers undertaking routine ultrasound therapy machine testing;
- Produce a number of advisory publications and international standards for physiotherapists and those testing ultrasound therapy machines. They will advise the mechanism for obtaining traceability and the key documentation to seek.
