Articles

Manufacturing: Tooling Up for Success

In the medical industry, metal parts play an integral role in a vast array of diagnostic, testing, medical instruments, and equipment. Although certain complex metal parts can only be machined, thinner...

The Ergonomics of Wearable Designs: Part 1

The wearable device product category is exploding in healthcare design. Wearing these sensory devices that continuously collect, measure and report the user's physiology, exercise behavior, lifestyle...

Design for Manufacturing: Tips for Molding Components in Silicone

Device functionality is usually the starting point when designing devices. Another element that needs to be considered when designing devices and their subsequent components is...

Customizing Implants With 3D Image Processing

Long-term patient comfort is a key part in any implant surgeries. Accurate placements of implants, of knees, hips, and other medical devices, is crucial to reducing the risk of discomfort and the...

Biosensors: Bringing Diagnosis to the Point of Care

Biosensors and point-of-care devices are poised to change the delivery of healthcare. Biosensor technology can be used in cheap, disposable point-of-care devices, or it can be used to provide...

Thinking Ahead Thermally: A Guide to Thermal Management Considerations for Medical Devices, Part 2

As the medical device and engineering industry grows, there is also demand for better devices and equipment. Trends such as smaller and more...

Tackling Clinical Evaluation Head On

When a medical device is placed on the market, it is critical for the manufacturer to demonstrate through appropriate Conformity Assessments (CAs) that the device complies with the Essential Requirements...

Key Human Factors Drive Design for Disposables, Test Kits and IFUs

Bring to mind your last straight-out-of-the-box experience with a disposable medical device of any kind. Without a doubt, everyone has experienced the same frustrations:...

Biaxial Testing of Medical Devices, Consumer Products, & Drug-Delivery Devices

Globally, the use of medical consumables continues to rise due to an aging population and the increasing prevalence of day surgeries. As the use of medical...

Effects of Surface Preparation on Medical Silicone Adhesive Performance

Medical device manufacturers often use silicone adhesives to bond parts together when assembling products such as catheters, pacemakers, cochlear implants, aesthetic...

Catheter-Delivered Pump Uses Innovative Approach to Fight Heart Failure

Walking up the stairs to your room one evening, you stop to catch your breath and think “I haven't always felt this tired.” Week by week, you start to notice even going...

2018 Medical Winner: An Implantable Sensor Technology Platform for Advanced Prosthetic Control

The 16th annual “Create the Future” Design Contest for engineers, students, and entrepreneurs worldwide, sponsored by COMSOL, Inc., and Mouser...

MIM and 3D Printing: Precision Cleaning and Product Finishing of Medical Devices

As the miniaturization trend continues to take the medical device world by storm, manufacturing with metal injection molding (MIM) and additive processes such as...

Power Architectures for Patient-Connected Medical Devices

Meeting the requirements for patient-connected medical devices can present challenges for power system designers. There are several key elements to consider, including isolation,...

Thinking Ahead Thermally: A Guide to Thermal Management Considerations for Medical Devices, Part 1

The medical device and engineering industry continues to grow and evolve year over year. As technology improves, the population expands, and the...

Why is Silicone the Material of Choice for Healthcare Tubing?

Healthcare-related tubing is used for fluid management and drainage as well as with anesthesiology and respiratory equipment, IVs, catheters, peristaltic pumps, and biopharmaceutical...

Micro Devices Deliver Big Blood Results

RMIT UniversityMelbourne, Australiawww.rmit.edu.au When you’re working with a fluid as hypersensitive as blood, it pays to have specialists on board.

EMC for Medical Devices: EN/IEC 60601-1-2, 4th Edition

The fourth edition IEC/EN 60601-1-2 (4th Edition) will become a mandatory standard covering safety for medical devices on December 31, 2018.1,2 As with any new standard edition, there are...

Miniature Connections Drive Advances in Emerging Neuro Technologies

The value of neuromodulation devices is that they offer a “third option” in the treatment of neurological disorders — one that can provide drug-free relief from symptoms...

Increase Dental Implant Longevity with Bio-functional TiN and DLC Coatings

Artificial dental implants are the most reliable restoration option available for mature tooth loss. Despite their long potential lifespan, poor integration into the jaw...

Improving Cancer Screening by Design

Every year, 50,000 Americans die from colorectal cancer, a common cancer that is easy to detect and can be effectively treated if caught in its earliest stages. Unfortunately, 38 percent of Americans...

Collaborative Robots Fill Automation Gaps For Medical Device Manufacturers

When small and mid-sized medical device manufacturers envision a robot, many think of either huge industrial robots working in fenced-off areas in large factories or...

Tailoring Plastics Joining Methods to DIVERSE Medical Device Needs

The European Commission defines personalized medicine as, “a medical approach tailored to the patient or a group of patients for prevention, prediction and treatment . . ....

Ensuring Injection Molding Quality for Medical Devices

Plastics are incredibly versatile. There are thousands of types available to satisfy a myriad of medical applications. Yet, certain plastics present special challenges during the injection...

Four-Step Plastic Testing Protocol: Making Informed Design and Material Decisions

Medical devices across the United States must not only keep pace with advances in technology but also with the increased use of harsh solvents and disinfectants....

RFID for Medical Device and Surgical Instrument Tracking

Ensuring patient safety and quality of care has become an increasingly technology-reliant process for most healthcare providers. With 4,000 reported “retained surgery items” cases per...

Reusable Medical Devices: BI Selection, Overkill Validation Approaches, and First-Time Validation Pass Rates in Common Healthcare Steam Sterilization Cycles

When validating the steam sterilization instructions for a reusable medical device,...

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. In...

Securing the Future of Healthcare through the Right Cybersecurity Architecture

In 2017, the healthcare industry experienced a dramatic surge in cyberattacks. Thousands of healthcare organizations around the world suffered various attacks —...