TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Clinical Applications and Medical Equipment Docs From:David Neeley <dbneeley -at- YAHOO -dot- COM> Date:Sun, 25 Jul 1999 15:18:16 -0400
Hi, Deborah,
In many cases, a particular medical device may be used
for a number of different things. For example, a large
catscan device developed for getting cross-sections of
the body may with modification be used for three-d
images of the brain. The tech writer would write
instructions on both uses, as well as any others that
might crop up through the useful life of the
equipment.
A pharmaceutical, too, can often be used for different
conditions. For instance, a drug developed to control
spasms such as epileptic seizures, Neurontin, is now
also the drug of choice for neuropathy pain. Again,
different clinical applications, both of which will be
documented by the drug company seeking more sales of
their drug.
Like other areas of technical documentation, more and
more is going into electronic form. A device which is
to be sold to the government will often have to be
documented with online resources...and some require
SGML documentation so they can keep everything up to
date with little effort.
I hope this helps. Medical documentation can be
exciting field, but the main problems will be with the
vocabulary.
David Neeley
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
