With the integration of new technologies such as molecular imaging, artificial intelligence, and big data with medical equipment, the role of clinical engineering talents with interdisciplinary knowledge and skills in the medical field is increasingly prominent. Since 2018, West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University has launched an introductory general education course on clinical engineering management for undergraduate students across the university. In response to the national education reform strategy, the course has shifted from a single theoretical teaching model to an “autonomy, cooperation, and inquiry” model, enriching the teaching staff and optimizing the teaching assessment. With 5 years of course practice, the number of course applicants has continued to grow, covering a wider range of subject areas, and students have given good evaluations of their teaching. The exploration and practice of this course provide new strategies for cultivating clinical engineering talents.
Traditional manual testing of ventilator performance is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and prone to errors in data recording, making it difficult to meet the current demands for testing efficiency in the development and manufacturing of ventilators. Therefore, in this study we designed an automated testing system for essential performance parameters of ventilators. The system mainly comprises a ventilator airflow analyzer, an automated switch module for simulated lungs, and a test control platform. Under the control of testing software, this system can perform automated tests of critical performance parameters of ventilators and generate a final test report. To validate the effectiveness of the designed system, tests were conducted on two different brands of ventilators under four different operating conditions, comparing tidal volume, oxygen concentration, and positive end expiratory pressure accuracy using both the automated testing system and traditional manual methods. Bland-Altman statistical analysis indicated good consistency between the accuracy of automated tests and manual tests for all respiratory parameters. In terms of testing efficiency, the automated testing system required approximately one-third of the time needed for manual testing. These results demonstrate that the designed automated testing system provides a novel approach and means for quality inspection and measurement calibration of ventilators, showing broad application prospects.
With the development of science and technology, a large number of advanced technologies are applied to medical equipment, which play an increasingly important role in clinical engineering. Therefore, new requirements are put forward for clinical engineering and clinical engineers in hospitals. This study comprehensively analyzed the training objectives and certification assessment of clinical engineering in many countries around the world. Combined with the current situation in China, it is of reference significance for the discipline construction and certification assessment of clinical engineering at the present stage in China, so as to promote the development of clinical engineering in China and speed up the development and certification of international clinical engineering.