Human Factors and Ergonomics

Medical equipment and supplies

Stories

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Technology Leaders: Design
Outsourcing can save costs and provide other commercial benefits. With outsourcing efforts related to medical devices, it is important to understand some aspects of U.S....
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Features: Medical
The latest medical developments typically involve smaller, more precise structures. These can be implants, assemblies, or components and motors in...
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Features: Medical
In the medical device industry, surface texture has become an important aspect of product design. It not only provides the means to refine the physical appearance of an item, but also...
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Briefs: Medical
University of Washington (UW) engineers have introduced a new way of communicating that allows devices such as brain implants, contact lenses, and smaller wearable electronics to talk to everyday devices...
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Briefs: Medical
Polylactic acid, or PLA, is a biodegradable polymer commonly used to make a variety of products, from disposable cups to medical implants to drug-delivery systems. A team of Brown University...
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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
University of California, Berkeley engineers have built the first dust-sized, wireless sensors that can be implanted in the body, bringing closer the day when a Fitbit-like device could...
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From the Editor: Medical
In late August, short-selling investment firm Muddy Waters issued an alarming report claiming that St. Jude Medical’s pacemakers, ICDs, and CRTs “should be...
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Features: Medical
The medical device industry often gets attention for its innovation and constant evolution. However, even the most innovative medical device technology is of no use if...
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Features: Manufacturing & Prototyping
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...
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Technology Leaders: Electronics & Computers
Electronic human machine interface (HMI) technology goes back as far as the 1940s with the punch card batch interfaces from IBM. Today, when you think of user interfaces, you may...
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Technology Leaders: AR/AI
Imagine patients with chronic conditions being monitored without having to be in a doctor’s office, or patients with more serious issues being monitored and treated outside the...
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Briefs: Medical
Implantable diagnostic devices and smart wearable systems that are capable of in situ sample collection and integration with the complex 3D structure of biological tissues offer significant...
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Briefs: Medical
Researchers have developed a technique for coating polymer implants with a bioactive film that significantly increases bonding between the implant and surrounding bone in an animal model. The advance could...
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Briefs: Medical
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) are bringing their idea for a “Window to the Brain” transparent skull implant closer to reality through the findings of two recently published...
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R&D: Medical
Ultrathin, Flat Lens Captures Chirality And Color
Many things in the natural world are geometrically chiral, meaning they cannot be superimposed onto their mirror image. Being able to observe and analyze the chirality of an object is very important in numerous fields. However, current chiral imaging techniques to resolve polarization and spectral...
R&D: Medical
Foot Device Controls Video Game Action
A group of graduate students from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, devised a sandal-like controller that allows a video game player to control the on-screen action with his feet. The team — dubbed GEAR, for Game Enhancing Augmented Reality — created the device for amputees or those with...
R&D: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Electron Microscope Measures With Atomic Resolution
Capturing all transmitted electrons allows quantitative measurement of a material’s properties, such as internal electric and magnetic fields, which are important for use of the material in memory and electronics applications. A research group at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, has developed and...
R&D: Electronics & Computers
Injectable Computers Broadcast From Inside The Body
Professors David Blaauw and David Wenzloff of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, are designing millimeter-scale, ultra-low-power sensing systems that can be injected into the body through a syringe. Unlike other similarly-sized radios, these new...
R&D: Medical
Knee Monitor 'Listens' for Cracks, Pops
A knee band from the Georgia Institute of Technology uses microphones and vibration sensors to listen to and measure the sounds inside the joint. The sounds will help doctors determine whether a convalescing joint is healthy or requires more therapy.
R&D: Medical
Wearable Patch Monitors Biochemical, Electrical Signals
For athletes looking to track their workouts or physicians who want to monitor a patient's heart disease, a flexible Chem-Phys patch from the University of California San Diego analyzes the body's biochemical and electric signals. The Chem-Phys wearable technology records electrocardiogram...
R&D: Medical
Students Design Prosthetic Fit for High Heels
A team of Johns Hopkins University students, working with a Johns Hopkins physician and outside experts, has designed a prosthetic fit for high heels. The "Prominence" foot adapts to popular fashion for heels up to four inches high.
R&D: Robotics, Automation & Control
Researchers Develop Ivy-Inspired Medical Adhesive
English ivy has the ability to latch on so tight to trees and buildings that the plant can withstand the winds of hurricanes and tornadoes. Researchers from The Ohio State University pinpointed the spherical particles within English ivy’s adhesive and identified the primary protein within them.
R&D: Semiconductors & ICs
Super-Fast, Stretchy Circuits Advance Wearable Health Monitors
A team of University of Wisconsin—Madison engineers has created the world’s fastest stretchable, wearable integrated circuits.
Features: Medical
The world today has become increasingly mobile with advances in powerful and portable technologies, such as...
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Features: Medical
The landscape of the medical device industry is changing, driven by emerging technologies and the influx of smart devices, telemedicine, and new patient care models. This new frontier is...
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Features: Medical
Medical platform development requires a security-focused mindset, making system protection a priority in the earliest stages of system design. Just as features like authentication...
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Briefs: Connectivity
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 cybersecurity...
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Briefs: Medical
Being able to manipulate virtual fingers, or even fingers attached to a functioning prosthetic device, is not the same as feeling like the device is part of your own body. Researchers at Arizona State...
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Features: Connectivity
Look around you. Doesn’t it seem like everyone is sporting a Fitbit® or other wearable technology? The fact is, consumers are quickly embracing devices that help them monitor...
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Ask the Expert

Ralph Bright on the Power of Power Cords
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Understanding power system components and how to connect them correctly is critical to meeting regulatory requirements and designing successful electrical products for worldwide markets. Interpower’s Ralph Bright defines these requirements and explains how to know which cord to select for your application.

Inside Story

Inside Story: Trends in Packaging and Sterilization
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Eurofins Medical Device Testing (MDT) provides a full scope of testing services. In this interview, Eurofins’ experts, Sunny Modi, PhD, Director of Package Testing; and Elizabeth Sydnor, Director of Microbiology; answer common questions on medical device packaging and sterilization.

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