Trains, Planes and Endoscopes: Using Capability Systems Engineering to reduce hospital-acquired infections

Capability Systems Engineering can be used to reduce healthcare-acquired infections caused by contaminated medical devices. We use examples from rail and defence systems to illustrate how this approach can include operational capabilities and systems of systems. We also provide a demonstration of techniques used to create improvements in the development, regulation and reprocessing of reusable medical devices, and provide a case study of preventing infections associated with endoscopes. This work reflects an ongoing collaboration between INCOSE and the Association for the Advancement for Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). It has been undertaken in support of the AAMI initiative to use a systems approach to reduce healthcare-acquired infections.