New Requirements for Medical Device Cleaning Validations: An Overview of ST98

As medical devices become more advanced and innovative, so do the regulations that surround them.

Designing Rugged Myoelectric Interfaces for Highly Functional Prosthetics

New sensors and high-performance microwiring are extending the performance of active myoelectric prosthetics.

Advancing the Evolution of Skin-Contact Adhesion Technology

Whether used in wound care products, ostomy applications, or for adhering wearable devices to skin, advanced pressure-sensitive adhesives are being created to improve breathability,...

Electrical Connectors: Design Considerations for Medical Devices

The myriad of devices used in surgical, interventional, imaging, diagnostic and therapeutic, sensors, and single-use medical applications use some form of transmission medium...

Special Metals Make Unparalleled Medical Devices Possible

Around the world, people are living longer with more active lifestyles thanks to continuing advancements in medical technology. This evolution in technology stems from the development...

SPECIAL REPORT: MEDINNOVATION BOSTON 2018

The medical device industry is built on innovation and invention. They are the drivers of change and evolution in this industry. But bringing these emerging technologies to market can be challenging....

Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Scaffolds for Orthopedic Applications: Design and Manufacturability

Metal additive manufacturing via laser powder bed fusion or electron beam melting has been used for several years for serial manufacturing of...

HANDHELD AND WEARABLE DEVICES: Paving a New Path for Healthcare

Technology is transforming many aspects of the healthcare industry, and the patient care experience is an important facet of the healthcare ecosystem. With the advent of the...

Advanced Machining and Automation Reduce Medical Device Tubing Costs

In order to stay competitive in today’s medical device marketplace, it is imperative that companies continually invest in the latest technologies to ensure that they...

Project Management: Four Trends to Follow in 2017

We are living through an era of profound change. Technology is affecting this change in ways unthinkable only a decade ago and none more so than in the medical device industry. A tour of life...

From the Editor — A Cure for the U.S. Medical Innovation Ecosystem

As 2016 came to a close, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the 21st Century Cures Act by a vote of 392–26, and the Senate passed it by a vote of...

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...

Removing Blinders: A Key to Medical Device Innovation

Imagine yourself as an engineering manager at a decent-sized medical device company. You have a team of engineers working with you who know their jobs pretty well. They’re a good mix of...

Developing a New Type of Polymer

Researchers at Northwestern University’s Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology say that they have developed a polymer that might one day be used in artificial muscles or other lifelike materials;...

Smaller, Smarter, Electronic, Connected: The Next Generation of Drug-Delivery Devices

An exciting trend in drug delivery is underway: the movement toward smaller, smarter, wirelessly connected electronic devices that allow...

Wireless Charging and Energy Harvesting to Revolutionize Medical Implants

Semiconductor chip technology has miniaturized by leaps and bounds over the past couple of decades, enabling the modern era we live in with smartphones, tablets, and...

Silicone’s History—and Future—in Medical Manufacturing

Silicone, a highly versatile synthetic polymer, seems to show up everywhere from cooking utensils and adhesives to sealants and cosmetics. Its unique properties have contributed to...

Incorporating Aesthetic Design into Medical Products

In medical product design, proper, robust functionality is paramount. The product simply has to work. In this market, is aesthetic design of any importance? And if so, how can designers...

Cancer Detection Device Receives SXSW Award

An optical probe to detect skin cancer designed by a team of researchers at the at the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas (UT) was a hometown favorite to win an innovation...

Creating a Technically Advanced Medical Tube: An Independent Extruder’s Perspective

With catheters and medical devices becoming increasingly advanced and specialized, so has the process of creating that device. With complex designs, or...

Domestic Manufacturing & Thermoforming Popular with Medical Device Manufacturers

Late last year, Ray Products, Inc., conducted a second annual thermoforming industry survey. More than half of the survey respondents represented medical device...

Secure, Cost-Effective, and Remotely Connected Medical Devices Are Revolutionizing Home Patient Care

Remote medical care is undergoing a revolution and the future is bright. Thanks to wireless networks and cloud connectivity across a growing...

Hydraulic Prosthetic Knee Joints Provide More Natural Mobility for Patients

For patients who have lost a leg, regaining mobility is a top priority. However, development of more true-to-nature prosthetic limbs and joints has come an amazingly...

Eliminating DEHP Plasticizer in Medical-Grade PVC

The plasticizers used to render PVC flexible constitute about a third of the vinyl compound by weight and have a significant effect on overall properties and performance. The most widely used...

Oxygen Assessments Ensure Safer Medical Devices

When the first Apollo mission to carry humans to the Moon ended in a fire that took the lives of three astronauts, NASA undertook a thorough investigation. The final accident report identified...

Medical Device Components 2.0: The Trend Towards a Healthier, PVC-Free Alternative

We’ve all learned in Wire & Cable 101 that poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) reigns supreme for its low cost, high temperature ranges, and multipurpose...

Managing Risk in Medical Connectors

Every day, medical device manufacturers are getting better and better at managing risk. They know they have to. Changes have been introduced into international regulatory schemes that impact device design...

Disc Replacement Can Be a Superior Alternative to Cervical Spinal Fusion

Cervical spine fusions have been performed since the 1950s and have achieved good, reproducible clinical results. Anterior cervical fusion is a current standard of care...