Quality assurance of medical software

Quality assurance is a topical issue within the software industry, and various methodological solutions aimed at improving software quality have been proposed. Medical software is generally deemed safety-critical and, as such, should be subject to control procedures exceeding those applicable to general-purpose software. The user/purchaser of medical equipment has an important part to play in the drive for higher-quality medical software, and ways in which the user can influence commercial suppliers are outlined. The implications of existing and planned legislation are also discussed.