The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has expanded its portal for international standards to help speed COVID-19 response efforts to include International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for medical electrical equipment. In addition to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards already included in ANSI's portal, the newly added IEC standards can further assist efforts to increase production of critical care ventilators as the number of patients who need them continue to rise.
The ANSI portal, Freely Available ISO and IEC Standards to Help Address COVID-19 Crisis, now includes 36 international standards covering medical equipment and devices - including ventilators and respiratory equipment; protective clothing used in health care settings; and business continuity management, security, and resilience. ANSI is the coordinator of the U.S. voluntary consensus standardization system and the U.S. member body to ISO and the IEC.
The standards are accessible in read-only format at no cost during the crisis; additional standards may be added in the future. To access the portal, users must accept the license agreement and register. Once registered, users can return to the portal via https://asc.ansi.org.
"ANSI is committed to supporting rapid response efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 public health pandemic," said ANSI president and CEO S. Joe Bhatia. "ANSI and the U.S. standardization community have always eagerly stepped up to address issues of national and global concern, and the challenge presented by COVID-19 is no different."
ANSI members and accredited standards developers - including AAMI, IEEE, and ASTM - are providing free access to standards and resources to help speed a rapid COVID-19 response:
IEEE standards to support research, infrastructure, and communications
ASTM standards for the production and testing of personal protective equipment
ANSI has also launched a COVID-19 Resource Webpage highlighting activities of the U.S. standardization community in the fight against the pandemic. Available at ansi.org/COVID-19, the resource page spotlights ANSI members' activities supporting public health, safety, and infrastructure, and includes important ANSI announcements, distance learning opportunities, and other resources.
To learn more about the ANSI Federation's COVID-19 response efforts, visit www.ansi.org/COVID-19.
See ANSI press release,To Speed Global COVID-19 Response Efforts, ANSI Adds ISO Standards to New Portal.
About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standards and conformity assessment system. The Institute serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).