Laboratory mechanics: when the electromedicine expires

Laboratory mechanics: when the electromedicine expires

At Mecánica Curiel, a company in Barcelona dedicated since 1972 to the manufacture of mechanized various and assemblies of precision, we consider the responsibility of the use of our products and services to be of utmost importance, as well as the possible effects that they may generate in the course of their life expectancy on the people who use them, and their impact on the environment.

Therefore, as extensive experts in the field of electromedicine, due to the development in our facilities of instruments of laboratory, we believe that it is our duty to adequately inform our clients, and the public in general; and make known what steps and recommendations to follow once the useful life of devices of this nature has ended. Whether due to wear, technological expiration of its components or, simply, because they break and there is no means to repair them (health technology of 2014).

Although the specific impact of the elements that can form the entire medical instrument is not solely and exclusively dependent on a single company, (this is the case of many final construction processes of equipment, which are done in different stages and in different places, as a result of being auxiliary elements [enllaçar post importance of machining processes that talks about this chain work]); all machining companies who dedicate their efforts to manufacturing resources for laboratories applied to this field, they should have sufficient experience to advise their clients on the risks involved in permanently decommissioning these parts.

An example of this can be found in the latest reports of the Spanish Society of Electromedicine and Clinical Engineering (SEEIC), who have recently denounced the current malpractice in Spain in health technology. What should happen to the instruments that have become obsolete due to technical advances? What if they really don't work? Should we recycle them? The fact is this, more than 400 tons of electromedical waste are recycled in our country every year.

If the equipment is still useful, there is a possibility of send them to countries with few medical resources, where legislation allows this use. What would be said to carry out social work.

If they don't work, recycling is the optimal and most beneficial option for all parties. This guarantees the use of raw materials, some of which are scarce and difficult to process; the saving of natural resources, and the proper management of this waste to minimize its impact on the environment. For each electromedical device, up to one 96% can be used. Among this high percentage, it is recycled and put to proper use as part of the task we carry out in our machining company.

In the same way that, in our company, the information in the field of electromedicine is applicable to working on the manufacture of mechanized laboratory instruments, there are many more sectors where the influence of these pieces is just as detrimental (in the long term) to their around.

At Mecánica Curiel we want to operate with the commitment and responsibility that guarantees us, and with the guarantee of the good quality of our products and services, but we must not forget that we are all part of this world that must be cared for and respected for the future generations, and the improper exploitation of resources that can cause harm in our society, are an avoidable price to pay if we act diligently. In this case, the field of electromedicine and the world, in general, will thank us.