Testing Medical Devices with Cocktail Napkins
Take a look at this graph by Venture Development Corporation (VDC):
Vertical Markets Where Test Automation Tools Are Being Used
(Percent of Respondents)
It doesn’t surprise me that 23.6% of automotive embedded developers are using test automation tools. I am a little surprised that military-areospace ranks second at 16.7%. Then again, we do seem to have problems with malfunctioning systems in space.
I am disturbed that medical devices (5.5%) rank so low for the use of test automation tools. Even consumer electronics rank higher than medical devices at 13.9%. Hmmm. I guess that means someone designing a device like an iPod is more likely to use test automation than someone developing something like a heart defibrillator. So, what do engineers use for testing medical devices? Cocktail napkins and slide rules?
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