Getting a Grip: An Innovative Mechanical Controller Design for Robot-Assisted Surgery

The new design combines both pinch and power grips.

Controlling Wheelchairs with a Wearable Brain-Machine Interface

Combining new classes of nanomembrane electrodes with flexible electronics and a deep learning algorithm could help disabled people wirelessly control an electric wheelchair,...

A Smart Artificial Hand for Amputees Merges User and Robotic Control

EPFL scientists are developing new approaches for improved control of robotic hands — in particular for amputees — that combines individual finger control and...

Exoskeletons, Surgical Robotics Drive Advances in Motion System Technologies

New technologies are coming along every day that are designed to make an engineer's life easier when attempting to fulfill his or her motion control system needs....

Prosthetic Arms Provide Controlled Sensory Feedback

Researchers have developed a control algorithm that regulates current so that a prosthetics user feels steady sensation, even when the electrodes begin to peel off or when sweat builds...

Automated Precision Grinding of PET/CT Scan Radiotracers

Computed tomography (CAT or CT) imaging is an incredible tool doctors use to help detect and diagnose patients noninvasively. Using specialized x-ray technology, the device has the...

Rehabilitation Robotics and Prosthetics: Trends and Intellectual Property Considerations

Beyond an ability to merely act, today's medical robotics are increasingly able to sense and “think,” providing for an ever-growing list of...

Molecular Thermostat Makes Heaters Simpler, Safer and More Stable

Many medical applications require heat for optimal performance. For patient comfort, effective treatment, and a variety of diagnostic processes, equipment and fluids...

Custom Engineered HV Power Supplies for High- Performance Applications

High-voltage power supplies (HVPSs) are required in multiple configurations and capabilities. The dimensions, type of enclosure, weight, input and outputs, thermal and...

Robot System Safety in Medical Manufacturing

Industrial manufacturing of medical products presents distinct challenges. This is particularly true for manufacturing of injectable drug products, which requires minimizing contamination to...

Tantalum Capacitors for Medical Applications

Surface mount solid tantalum capacitors are a well-established technology and have been broadly employed in medical devices for decades. There are many reasons to choose tantalum,...

Designing Cybersecurity into Connected Medical Devices

Cyber threats to health delivery organizations (HDOs) and the medical device industry as a whole have hit a new level of maturity in the last year. A decade ago, the attack scene was...

Advantages of Servo-Actuated Molds for Manufacturing Medical Devices

Electric servo motors are rapidly replacing mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic actuation systems in plastic injection molds, particularly those used in medical...

8 Key Decisions to Make When Designing Motor Drives

Engineers designing their own motor drives must accomplish many different tasks, from selecting a microcontroller to choosing the right connectors and power supply for mechanical...

Drug-Delivery Systems: Building in Reliability

Systems that deliver medication — whether implanted or at the patient bedside in the hospital — are often vital for the survival of patients. Drug-delivery devices include ambulatory...

Lasers: The Perfect Tool for Industry 4.0

With the advent of Industry 4.0, digital manufacturing promises speed, directness, and flexibility — so it needs a tool that meets those demands. Fortunately, the right technology has been evolving...

Mari: Precision Technology for Successful Surgery

Besides radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the standard procedure for treating brain tumors includes the surgical removal of all or some of the growth. This surgery calls for precision and...

The Next Industrial Revolution and What It Could Mean for Medical Device Manufacturing

The next industrial revolution is on its way. It is bringing innovative technologies that are available and proven and placing them in the modern...

Achieving Quality and Economy with Cold Forming

As medical devices become smaller, the need for precision microminiature components increases. This provides several challenges for the medical device manufacturer as they seek cost-effective...

Cybersecurity Standards for Medical Devices

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and UL (Underwriters Laboratories) announced a signed Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) program to create medical device...

An Overview of the Most Popular Rotary Motion Technologies

The ability to provide accurate rotary motion is critical in a wide range of applications in the automation equipment, medical device, machine tool, energy, welding, robotics,...

Robotic Glove Can Help Restore Hand Movements

National University of Singapore, Singapore http://news.nus.edu.sg/

Patients who have lost their function in their hand due to injury or a nerve-related condition, such as stroke or muscular...

Precision Manufacturing of Medical Devices Using Ultra-Short Pulse Lasers

The rapid pace of innovation in the medical device industry puts ever increasing pressure on manufacturers to achieve greater geometrical precision, increase device...

9 Tough Questions to Ask About Your Dispense Valves

Dispensing plays an important role in medical device manufacturing. There are many stringent requirements for accuracy, reliability, repeatability, dispensing speed, and throughput. In...

Valveless Fluid Control for Medical Diagnostic Instrumentation

The results of recent surveys suggest that more than half of all healthcare decisions are made using test results obtained from medical diagnostic instrumentation. These tests...

Standard Security Framework for Medical Device Technologies: A Work in Progress

Collaboration among healthcare technology stakeholders—from device manufacturers and healthcare delivery organizations to healthcare security intelligence...

Laser Raster‐Scanning Patterns on Cylindrical Workpieces Using Advanced Drawing Post-Processing Tools

Manufacturing interventional cardiac devices, such as stents, has traditionally employed two-axis systems consisting of a rotary...

Preventing Pressure Sores in Wheelchair Users with ‘Smart’ Textiles

Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

The research project PUMA (Pressure Ulcer Measurement and Actuation), founded by the European Commission,...

Thermal Management Solutions for Medical Electronics

Electronic devices used in the medical industry have thermal management needs similar to those in other fields. Their electronics must stay cool enough to run continuously and correctly...