The 2018 Lifetime Award winner is Mark E. Bruley, EIT, CCE, FACCE.

Mark joined ECRI (now ECRI Institute) in 1975 when it was a small group of pioneers under the leadership of the late Dr. Joel Nobel. He had just graduated from the Biomedical Engineering Technology program at Temple University and passed his EIT exam. Once at ECRI, he focused his work for the next 42 years on patient safety related to medical devices. Recently retired from full time work at ECRI, he continues to consult for them.

Mark became an internationally renowned medical device accident investigator, working with clinicians to curb the aftermath of serious accidents. Recognized as a leading world expert on surgical fires and a tireless advocate for their elimination, he has researched, investigated, published, and lectured on the causes and prevention of this continuing hazard.

In 1998 and again in 2016, in response to FDA’s request for comments on Refurbishing, Reconditioning, Rebuilding, Remarketing, Remanufacturing, and Servicing of Medical Devices Performed by Third-Party Entities and Original Equipment Manufacturers, Mark provided in formal comments to FDA and in testimony, the only evidence-based analysis of medical device related accidents caused by refurbishing, reconditioning, servicing, etc., demonstrating that there is no evidence of a patient safety issue related to such activities.

Mark’s patient safety work more broadly addressed national healthcare policy issues in 2000 when he presented invited testimony on “The Research Agenda for Errors with Healthcare Technology” at the First National Summit on Medical Errors and Patient Safety sponsored by the U.S. Quality Interagency Coordination Task Force (QuIC) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in Washington, DC. In 2004, he was appointed to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Postmarket Surveillance of Pediatric Medical Devices at the National Academy of Sciences.

His publications on healthcare technology and related patient safety and clinical/biomedical engineering issues number more than 165, including journal articles, proceedings, and book chapters. The Joint Commission, state departments of health, the FDA, standards committees, professional societies, and foreign governments have relied on Mark for his expertise for decades. He has lectured or taught on healthcare technology topics at more than 300 domestic and international venues. His international engagements have taken him to Australia, Cameroon, Canada, China, England, France, Hong Kong, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore.

Mark served two terms as a member of the ACCE Board of Examiners and has been active in many AAMI committees over the years. Awards recognizing Mark’s work include the ACCE / HTF Marvin Shepherd Devteq Patient Safety Award (2003), the Institute of Electrical/Electronics Engineers (Philadelphia Chapter) Benjamin Franklin Key Award (2007 and 2013), and the AAMI & Becton Dickinson Patient Safety Award (2014).

Mark is a member and past president of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), was inducted into the IBM Order of Merlin in 2009, and is delighted be generally regarded as the de facto “Magician in Residence” for the clinical engineering community.

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