World Metrology Day 2021 – How Measurements in Health Help Fight COVID-19

As we celebrate World Metrology Day this year, the impact of quality measurements in healthcare is even more transparent. After more than a year of global pandemic actions, we can see how much our industry has been involved in the medical device manufacturing process as well as vaccine production and transportation.

Fluke Chief Corporate Metrologist Jeff Gust explains why measurements matter, and continue to matter, every step of our journey in the fight against COVID-19.

The history of World Metrology Day

In 1875, seventeen nations came together at the Metre Convention. These representatives had one goal: create a measurement system that is uniform throughout the world. Every year, on May 20th, we celebrate the vision and progress on the path these representatives started for us.

The international treaty, signed in Paris, France created the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the home of the International System of Units (SI) and the international reference time scale (UTC). This group also hosts the General Conference on Weights and Measures (GCPM) which meets in Paris every four years.

The original seventeen nations who signed the treaty at the 1875 Metre Convention were Argentina, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Norway, Switzerland, Ottoman Empire, United States of America, and Venezuela. However, the ongoing conference (GCPM) now has 63 member states and 40 associate members.

Transcript

Hello, I’m Jeff Gust, Chief Corporate Metrologist at Fluke.

On May 20th we celebrate World Metrology Day and this year, as our vaccine program delivers us out of a global pandemic, we’re focusing on Measurement for Health.

Let’s talk about why measurements matter and continue to matter every step of our journey in the fight against COVID19.During COVID-19, temperature measurements are one of our first lines of defense. We look for better, more accurate and reliable ways of taking measurements including non-contact measurements to keep everyone safe.

As a global leader in thermography cameras, Fluke continues to work on ground-breaking research in this area. Our expertise in thermography as well as calibration ensures that devices measure what they are supposed to measure and that the measurements are accurate.

As a global leader in thermography cameras, Fluke continues to work on ground-breaking research in this area. Our expertise in thermography as well as calibration ensures that devices measure what they are supposed to measure and that the measurements are accurate.

Think about the speed at which the vaccine was developed. It usually takes years but we had a vaccine within months of discovering the virus. One crucial reason was the speed with which scientists were able to uncover the viral sequence of SARS-CoV-2. This was thanks to advances in genomic sequencing tools, a technique that involves measuring sets of nucleotides within the DNA.

For me personally, this is very exciting as genomic sequencing is leading towards developing solutions in individualized medicine. It’s really where the future of medicine is heading, and measurement will play a big part in that future.

Now that we have vaccines, we need to deliver them, and it takes measurements to do that. We’re read a lot about the cold chain and how vaccines need to be delivered and maintained at specific temperatures.

We’ve also seen instances where up to 50% of vaccines are lost due to poor cold chain management. At Fluke, we help prevent this by providing equipment and processes to ensure the devices in which these vaccines are being transported and stored are calibrated correctly.

So, when you get your vaccine, you can trust that it will work.

Measurement science is often a hidden science. As a leader in test and measurement, Fluke may not develop the defibrillator or the incubator, but we are enabling the technology behind it. We develop the instruments that ensure that defibrillators deliver the right amount of energy to treat people. If they deliver too little, it may not save the person; if it is too much, it may burn or injure the person.

At any hospital, you’ll find Fluke products measuring air quality, testing that electronic equipment is safe and working and ensuring communication equipment is working and secure.

As a test and measurement company, we measure ourselves through the innovations we enable and our efforts to keep the world up and running.

Please stay healthy. Happy World Metrology Day.

Keep learning

• General Calibration / Metrology Topics
• About Calibration
• Why IR accuracy and traceability are critical