PRESS RELEASES

Empirical Testing Corp. Earns Additional A2LA Accreditations

2008-02-01

Empirical Testing Corp. Earns Additional A2LA Accreditations—ASTM F2193: Components Used in the Surgical Fixation of the Spinal Skeletal System and ISO 14801: Dentistry Fatigue Tests for Endosseous Dental Implants

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, January 7, 2008—Empirical Testing Corp. (ETC), an innovator in medical device testing, recently added two American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) certifications to its stable of accreditations: ASTM F2193 for components used in the surgical fixation of the spinal skeletal system and ISO 14801 for dentistry fatigue tests for endosseous dental implants. The addition of ISO 14801 broadens the orthopaedic services delivered by ETC.

"We are happy to follow the call of our customers by expanding our accreditations and services," said Dawn Lissy, ETC CEO. "The additional ASTM and ISO standards ensure that these services are delivered with the utmost skill and professionalism."

The ongoing pursuit of accreditation is part of ETC's commitment to the professionals and patients who rely on orthopaedic implants to improve and save lives. With the additions of ASTM F2193 and ISO 14801, ETC now has a total of eleven accredited services. This represents the greatest range of accredited spine and orthopaedic test standards currently available anywhere in the world.

To earn the additional accreditations, ETC completed A2LA's lengthy documentation process and met the organization's internationally-accepted criteria for competence (ISO/IEC 17025:2005). The rating qualifies ETC to perform testing and evaluation of medical devices, prototypes, and novel experimental systems made from both metals and polymers.

ETC testing services include assessing the following:

• Static and dynamic characterization of spinal artificial discs
• Load-induced subsidence of intervertebral body fusion devices
• Standard specifications and test methods for metallic bone plates
• Metallic medical bone screws
• Endurance properties of stemmed femoral components of partial and total hip joint prostheses
• Spinal implant constructs in a vertebrectomy model Static and fatigue properties of interconnection mechanisms and subassemblies used in spinal arthrodeses implants
• Intervertebral body fusion devices
• Functional, kinematic, and wear assessment of total disc prostheses
• Components used in the surgical fixation of the spinal skeletal system
• Dentistry fatigue test for endosseous dental implants
• More about ETC
  

Founded in 1999, Empirical Testing Corp. provides professional, timely, and accurate testing of medical devices such as spinal implants and other orthopaedic devices to meet the needs of the competitive market place, the product development environment, and the discerning consumer base. For more information, call ETC at 719-264-9937.