A neutral, precompetitive forum for respiratory measurement
PRISM exists so the people who design, test, regulate and use respiratory devices can agree — openly and without commercial pressure — on how performance should be measured and reported.
Why we came together
Respiratory care depends on devices whose performance is measured in many different ways, by many different labs, using many different setups. When measurement methods diverge, results can't be compared, lessons don't transfer, and the whole field moves more slowly than it should.
PRISM is a response to that fragmentation. We are respiratory-focused leaders — engineers, clinicians, regulatory scientists and data analysts — who choose to collaborate precompetitively. Precompetitive simply means working together on shared technical groundwork — like how device performance is measured — in the space before products compete in the market. We pool knowledge on measurement methods for the greater good of global respiratory care, while continuing to compete as we normally would everywhere else.
Precompetitive collaboration is a well-established way of doing this. Industries from drug development to medical devices to life-science R&D have proven that competitors, regulators and researchers can sit at the same table on shared technical problems — without giving up commercial position, and without compromising independence.
A familiar model
In the tradition of precompetitive consortia
PRISM operates as a precompetitive forum — the same kind of organization as these established consortia, convening would-be competitors around shared technical methods, with no commercial coordination and no preferential treatment.
MDIC
Medical Device Innovation Consortium
Public-private partnership advancing medical-device science and regulatory methods. The closest domain analogue to PRISM — methods and measurement focus, non-commercial.
C-Path
Critical Path Institute
Neutral, non-profit convener bringing industry and the FDA together on drug-development tools. A long-standing “trusted third party” model.
Pistoia Alliance
Life-science R&D consortium
Precompetitive collaboration where competing life-science organizations work together on shared methods and tooling that benefit the whole field.
PRISM applies that same precompetitive logic to a gap none of these fill: neutral, non-binding guidance on how respiratory device performance is measured.
What we are — and are not
PRISM is precompetitive in style, but deliberately informal in structure. The two are different things, and the line matters.
We are
- A voluntary, non-commercial technical discussion forum
- A publisher of open, non-binding guidance
- A consensus-building community of individuals
We are not
- A regulator, notified body, or certification body
- An accredited or commercial testing laboratory
- A formal standards-development organization
- A legally constituted consortium with corporate members or dues
PRISM publications do not replace ISO, IEC, ASTM, FDA, EU MDR, national regulatory requirements, clinical judgment, or manufacturer responsibilities.
How PRISM works
A Steering Board
A volunteer Steering Board approves members and publications, charters working groups, and safeguards PRISM's neutrality. Decisions are made by resolution and recorded, with conflicts of interest declared.
Working groups
When chartered by the Steering Board, working groups take on specific technical topics — from bias-flow metrics to calibration and uncertainty — and prepare draft guidance, templates and discussion papers for review.
Open publications
Approved outputs are published with full metadata: authors and affiliations, reviewers, conflict-of-interest and sponsor disclosures, methodology, limitations, and a non-binding disclaimer.
Non-cash support only
PRISM accepts only non-cash support — loaned equipment, lab access, volunteer time. Sponsors are disclosed and never receive editorial control over PRISM's conclusions.
Guardrails we hold to
- No product endorsements, commercial rankings, or approvals of any kind.
- Conflicts of interest are disclosed and visible on people and publications.
- Sponsor support is disclosed; sponsors have no editorial control.
- No discussion of pricing, market allocation, or other commercially sensitive conduct.
- No proprietary, confidential, or patient data — test data is anonymized or aggregated.
- Membership never implies endorsement by an employer, institution, or manufacturer.