ISO 11990:2003 specifies a method of testing the continuous wave (cw) laser resistance of the shaft of a tracheal tube. Other components of the system, such as the inflation system and cuff, are outside the scope of ISO 11990:2003.

The specified test method shall be used to measure and describe the properties of materials, products or assemblies in response to heat and flame under controlled laboratory conditions and shall not be used to describe or appraise the fire hazard or fire risk of materials, products, or assemblies under actual fire conditions. However, results of this test may be used as elements of a fire risk assessment which takes into account all the factors which are pertinent to an assessment of the hazard of a particular end use. Caution should be observed in interpreting these results, since the direct applicability of the result of this test method to the clinical situation has not been fully established.