BIPM Workshop on Physiological Quantities and SI Units

16-17 November 2009

Chairman

Scientific Secretary

Background

Increasing demands are being placed on metrologists and other experts to quantify the effects of a multitude of factors on the human body, and this requires the resolution of a number of complex scientific issues – including assuring the traceability of the measurements to the International System of Units (SI).

To this end the BIPM organized a Workshop on Physiological Quantities and SI Units to bring together the various interested communities – principally those concerned with traceable, reliable and comparable measurement, and those responsible for writing and applying specification standards and/or health and safety legislation. The principal aims of the Workshop were to initiate:

• a collaboration aimed at relating the effects on the human body to measurements traceable to the SI or to other internationally agreed standards;
• harmonization of terms and methods so that measurements made in different places can be related to each other, thereby enabling comparability of research work and a consistent approach to the estimation of effects on the human body;
• best practice guides and/or documents which may be adopted as the basis for the measurement aspects of international standardization, regulation and/or legislation; and
• a commitment by intergovernmental bodies and international organizations to work together and to encourage the application of the agreed best practices.

The Workshop took place at the BIPM on 16-17 November 2009 and the final report is available here. Access to the presentations given during the Workshop is restricted to the participating experts nominated by the Intergovernmental Organizations, International Organizations, and National Metrology Institutes.