He may be relatively new on the job, but Levi Moore has been preparing for this role for years. In October 2017, Moore was appointed to the helm of Longmont, Colo.-based Acertara—taking over as President and Chief Operating Officer of the independent ultrasound testing, repair, and calibration laboratory after serving in management roles for the better part of a decade. Below, Moore reveals what’s on the horizon for Acertara and shares expert advice for HTM professionals who count ultrasound devices among their inventories.
24×7 Magazine: Can you please share with our readers how you got started in the medical equipment sector?
Levi Moore: I started working for my father [Acertara CEO G. Wayne Moore] when I was still in high school, beginning in 1997 when he started Sonora Medical Systems. At first, I disassembled ultrasound systems for parts, repaired ultrasound transducers, and helped with anything else required at a small company. After returning from a tour with the Marines in the Iraq War, I helped grow Sonora’s acoustic power instruments division by working with ultrasound startups and OEMs throughout the world—helping companies develop new ultrasound products and assisting with 510k clearance of products entering the market. I’ve been around ultrasound my entire life.
24×7: How has Acertara evolved in the past few years? How do you expect the company to evolve even more in the future?
Moore: We continue to add to our patent portfolio and service capabilities. The company has grown significantly in the last seven years, but our rate of growth has really exploded in the last 18 months. Expect Acertara to continue to drive new testing, repairs, and devices into the market in the coming years.
24×7: What are some key challenges currently affecting your customers and how are you actively working to combat them?
Moore: Since there are so many different companies out there offering repair services, it is challenging for HTM professionals to know who to work with and who they can trust. Understanding what a real quality management system is and how to interpret the scope of those systems is a full-time job. [Some] companies that offer service for ultrasound probes, for example, do not actually do any of the repairs themselves. Instead, they send those repairs to third parties that offer no traceability on materials and who have no quality management system or safety measures in place to ensure their repairs are effective.
We work to help educate the market on how to read an ISO certificate and what to look for to ensure our customers understand what those certifications truly mean. We are constantly developing and improving test equipment so that we can show our customers that our repairs are effective. We are also working with several groups to try to elevate the level of repaired devices that are returned to the hospital because, ultimately, it is patient safety that is the most important part of effective device repair.
24×7: Do you have any parting advice for HTM professionals who are tasked with maintaining imaging devices?
Moore: In short, an effective plan for regular testing of your imaging equipment is the best way to control costs, improve performance, and ensure effective patient care.