The international standards organisation is an obstacle to the development of appropriate anaesthetic equipment for the developing world

The anaesthetic standards committees of the ISO are dominated by representatives from equipment manufacturers. The standards produced are such that their main effect is to drive sales of complex equipment in rich countries. Most of the committee members are ignorant of the needs and specifications required by developing countries. Developing countries are not represented, their needs are ignored, and most new equipment meeting ISO standard fails to perform in the harsher environment where technical infrastructure is lacking.