The Centre for Testing and Calibration (CTC), a division of HLL Infra Tech Services (HITES) Ltd has now ventured into industrial segments catering to state and central government premium institutions after being certified by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
HITES is a fully owned subsidiary of the mini-ratna PSU HLL Lifecare Ltd specialising in infrastructure development, procurement of medical equipment and devices, facility management in healthcare sector.
HITES CTC which started with calibration of medical equipment is now expanding to industrial services with larger and more complex machines. The Centre received NABL accreditation and AERB authorisation last year becoming the only facility in the government sector to be accredited by both the agencies.
The NABL certification recognizes the high standards set by the CTC in test equipment, technical qualification of manpower, environmental condition, methodology of testing, documentation process and onsite calibration facilities.
Calibration of medical equipment is crucial for its performance and for patient and operator safety. Poor calibration raises the risk of unreliable results in equipment ranging from a simple blood-pressure monitoring apparatus to life-saving equipment such as ventilator and anesthesia machine.
The CTC has been offering testing and calibration services to medical institutions across India, these include blood banks and public and private hospitals. It has the expertise to calibrate all medical test equipment and has engineers and medical physicists with expertise in electronics, instrumentation, and biomedical field.
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board authorization is essential to conduct Quality Assurance Test for Radiological equipment such as X-Ray machine and CT machine — a vital requirement for ensuring that operators and patients have safe and controlled exposure to X-ray radiation. CTC also has a unique facility in the country to test the quality of medical diagnostic ultrasound.
“Calibration is currently a neglected area in medical field, but the reliability of medical equipment is essential for accurate diagnosis by doctors and by extension for patient safety and quality of healthcare,” said R P Khandelwal, chairman and managing director of HLL Lifecare.
“With the emergence of accredited agencies for calibration, treatment quality will acquire a new dimension in the days to come and it will bolster the emergence of our country as a prime destination in the world of healthcare,” he added.
S.N. Sathu, chief executive officer, HITES, said the CTC’s goal is to ensure the quality and safety of medical equipment in healthcare institutions across India.
“The team has successfully calibrated equipment in more than 50 government controlled blood banks across the state of Odisha. Moreover the team has executed projects in government hospitals including medical colleges and private hospitals in Kerala”, he said. “We take efforts to ensure that calibration is done methodologically without any compromise on standards so that the equipment is fit and safe for usage.”