Web Resources for Device Professionals

Originally Published MDDI July 2003

NEWSTRENDS

Maureen Kingsley

Manufacturers have a wealth of on-line assistance and advice available at their fingertips. Everything from technical data on material characteristics to Web-based seminars can be accessed with a few clicks of the mouse. Each of the following three Web sites has something to offer medical device makers.

Vesta Inc., at www.vestainc.com. This supplier of silicone products for the medical device industry launched a redesigned Web site at the beginning of this year. Among the new features is a Working with Silicone section, which offers information on silicone properties, illustrations of sample device shapes, and silicone design tips. Downloadable literature is available as well, such as data sheets on silicone manufacturing processes.

EngineeringReference.com, at www.engineeringreference.com. This exhaustive site advertises "practical engineering data and tools for medical device professionals," and it delivers on that claim. Helpfully divided into such categories as Practical Tools, Properties, Regulations, Standards, Sterilization, and Quality, the on-line tools include unit-conversion calculators, engineering notes, an industry-terms glossary, technical information on material properties and sterilization methods, and a whole lot more. Visitors don't register or subscribe; the site's content is immediately accessible, and is available free of charge. There are, however, studies, reports, and a new "Periodic Table of Medical Polymer Sterilization" available for purchase from the Store section of the Web site.

Intertek Education Center, at www.etlsemko.com/medwebinar/index.htm. This new, ongoing series of Web-based and live seminars provides timely regulatory information to compliance engineers in the medical device industry. Every month, topics of interest are scheduled and broadcast live on the Internet, then archived. Upcoming topics include "Why 90% of Medical Devices Fail Product Certification Testing the First Time," which will air on July 22, and "The In-Vitro Diagnostics Directive (IVDD): An Inside Look," scheduled to be broadcast on July 24. The seminars are offered by the ETL SEMKO Division of Intertek Testing Services Inc.

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