Book reviews
Medical equipment Industry - potential for growth A. Murray (Ed), IEE Publications, London, 1998, ISSN 0963-3308 ref 98/182, 127pages, £20. The worldwide market for medical devices, currently worth over $100 billion, with a sustained growth rate of 6% per annum, is widely regarded as a key investment area for the future. Yet, the UK holds just 3% of the world market, and 25% of the domestic market for biomedical equipment. Part of the reason for this is the fragmented nature of the industry, with over 1500 companies of which 75% have less than £1 million turnover, and 80% have less than 10 employees. This book collects under a single cover a great deal of essential information about the market for medical devices, sources of funding from research through to product development, sources of advice on the regulatory framework and compliance with standards, planning clinical investigations, evaluating new products and marketing them. It forms a compendium which packs summary information together with a list of useful contacts, enabling the reader to map out in detail the route from an initial concept to a certified and marketable product. It addresses such questions as the size of the market in the UK and abroad, competitor companies, where to look for advances in research, how to define the market for a new product, where to search for funding, going about patenting and protecting intellectual property rights, finding out about the regulatory framework and standards, the conduct of clinical investigations within the context of the Medical Device Regulations, what to expect from an independent evaluation by the Medical Devices Agency, and how to explore sustainable markets with the health providers. Whether a new company, an established one developing new medical devices or equipment, or as an academic contemplating a new patent, and whether the product involves hardware, software or both combined, if it is aimed at the UK and EC markets, then this book provides invaluable information to make decisions about product design, to find out what is required by law before marketing it, and how to go about the business of certification. This goldmine of information comes at a cost of £20. Paulo Lisboa Auscultation of the heart: a cardiophonetic approach T. Anthony Don Michael, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1998, ISBN 0-07-018005-9, 399 pages, £28.95 This is part of a growing series of multimedia educational works. The main focus is the book itself, but a 3½" computer disc accompanies the book. The PC version is distributed, but a Macintosh disc is available on request. The disc is very easy to install, and although its contents are somewhat limited, it is well produced and neatly illustrates some of the concepts in the book. The disc contains 12 example heart sounds, each with diagnostic information. The program can be switched to give either the usual style of simulated sound or the phonetic sounds, starting from the "lup-dup" of the normal S1 S2 heart sounds. The provision of phonetic information throughout the book is an important aspect of the presentation, but for many readers the phonetic concept will not be intuitive, and examples of the sounds are essential. The computer program therefore provides an essential teaching aid for the phonetic sounds. Dr. Michael is concerned about the way the art of auscultation has been devalued and assumed to be difficult. Be believes that these attitudes have led to the demise of auscultation in critical care areas. He seeks to reverse this position with his undoubted clinical skills and experience with auscultation. After a general introduction to sound and auscultation, which bioengineers will find disappointing, he proceeds to the main clinical content of the book. Sounds are described from virtually every common cardiac condition, and from some which are relatively rare. He explains how best to listen to the sounds, suggesting the optimum sites for placing the stethoscope and for positioning the patient, and includes an explanation of how the sounds are produced. From information about a clinical condition it should be relatively easy to find the associated auscultatory information. In summary, this book contains a wealth of clinical information associated with the complete range of heart sounds, and is illustrated with a limited number of sounds on the accompanying computer disc. A Murray | ||