Re: FW: FW: Medical Device Symbols -- ISO terminology and politics

[Alain LaBonté <alb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

À 07:46 1999-10-20 -0400, Winkler, Arnold F a écrit :
>Alain,
>
>In your work with SC35, did you ever come accross ICONs on medical devices ?

[Alain]  All ISO *symbols* (including keyboards' and office systems' on
which I worked, but also medical devices symbols) are registered in
International Standard ISO 7000 (supplements printed from time to time) and
all IEC symbols are registered in IEC 417 standard. ISO TC 145 is
responsible for all ISO symbols (it now closely works with IEC too!) and
none of them can be included in any International Standard produced by any
ISO TC (including ISO/IEC JTC1) unless they are accepted (with descriptions
in English and in French) by that TC 145 and registered in ISO 7000. In
passing, characters, glyphs and icons *ARE NOT* symbols in the sense
prescribed by ISO TC 145. 

Symbols are used on devices to represent functions or statuses. Icons can
correspond to symbols --- it is a twist of the mind that occured for
political and technical reasons in ISO/IEC JTC1 to avoid having to deal
with ISO TC 145 [icons are of a much more flexible nature and are also
constrained by technology, while symbols' shapes are very exactly and
strictly prescribed]-- but as of now you have to consider that they are
different things ; in the case of glyphs and characters you know about them
-- for example we made coded characters out of the keyboard symbols, and
these characters are mapped into glyphs -- keyboard symbols can also be
rendered as icons on a screen or on a liquid crystal display [in fact
keyboard symbols are a case in point where all of these now exist at once].

[Arnold]
>Any idea, where I could find information about them ?

[Alain]  See above. You now know a little bit more about this. I hope this
helps.

[Arnold]
>Thanks

[Alain]  You're always welcome.

Alain LaBonté
Québec

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Michael Everson [mailto:everson@xxxxxxxxx]
>Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 5:56 AM
>To: Winkler, Arnold F
>Cc: Kathy_Mix@xxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: FW: Medical Device Symbols
>
>
>Ar 20:01 -0400 1999-10-19, scríobh Winkler, Arnold F:
>>Michael, have you ever heard of such stuff ?
>
>There's the biohazard thingy; I think I've seen a number of TC210/WG3's
>things, but I don't have a standard to hand. It would be fairly easy to
>digitize them into a proper TrueType font, in fact, which would serve Kathy
>better.
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Kathy_Mix@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Kathy_Mix@xxxxxxxxxxx]
>>Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 1999 11:09 AM
>>To: arnold.winkler@xxxxxxxxxx
>>Subject: Medical Device Symbols
>>
>>
>>Hello-
>>I found your email on an ISO WG site, and was wondering if you could help
>me
>>out.
>>
>>I am looking for hi-rez tiff or eps files of the ISO/TC 210/WG 3 approved
>>medical device symbols for use on the packaging of medical lab reagents and
>>product boxes. ("Biological risk", "Protect from heat or radioactive
>>sources",
>>"temperature limitation", etc.) I am attempting to re-design packaging to
>CE
>>standards, and need these symbols to cut down on the amount of text
>required
>>on
>>a label.
>>
>>Can you point me in the right direction?
>>Any help would be greatly appreciated!
>>Regards-
>>
>>Kathy Mix
>>Art Director
>>Bio-Rad Laboratories, Irvine, CA
>
>
>--
>Michael Everson * Everson Gunn Teoranta * http://www.indigo.ie/egt
>15 Port Chaeimhghein Íochtarach; Baile Átha Cliath 2; Éire/Ireland
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