Articles

Non-Contact, Light-Based Measurements for Medical Balloons and Catheters

One of the most prevalent measurement devices in a medical balloon or catheter manufacturing facility is the micrometer gauge. It is simple and inexpensive. But, this...

The ‘Hidden’ Tax on Medical Device Start-Up Funding

Starting on Dec. 31, 2012, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) Medical Device Excise Tax began to be applied to the sales of all taxable medical devices in the US....

Building a Healthier Future, Layer by Layer

The 12th annual “Create the Future” Design Contest for engineers, students, and entrepreneurs worldwide, sponsored by COMSOL and Mouser Electronics, attracted more than 1,074 innovative product...

Today’s Wearable Medical Devices: A Few Key Design Considerations

Today’s modern medical devices are evolving at a record pace. From small wearable watches and bands worn by health enthusiasts, to portable wireless units for patients to use...

Choosing MEMS Pressure Sensors for Medical Device Applications

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), as the name implies, are miniature devices composed of mechanical (springs, deformable membranes, vibrating structures) and electrical...

Regenerating the Future of Biomaterials in Orthopedics

Musculoskeletal ailments are a primary cause of disability in the United States. As reported by the United States Bone and Joint Initiative (http://www.usbji.org), with a nearly...

Where Component Design Functionality and Cost Reduction Converge

The need to control and reduce costs by manufacturers of surgical instruments, medical devices, and healthcare consumable goods has been accelerated by a variety of current...

Novel Polymer Technology Bids Farewell to Tri-layer

Modern medicine has come a long way from the reed catheters of ancient Syria or the metal tubes of Benjamin Franklin’s time. As doctors discover more and more ways to utilize minimally...

Reservoir Seals, Tubing, and LSR Make the Difference for Medical Devices

Medical science has made great strides in advancing the care and treatment of people around the globe. Thermoplastic and elastomeric materials have been an essential part...

Safety, Compliance, and Regulation: The Gateway for Laser-Based Products into the Marketplace

Many medical devices, both existing and new designs, are laser-based. For some time, lasers have been designed into medical devices from diagnostic,...

Form + Function: Interconnect Cable Assemblies for Ambulatory Monitoring

Building on the success of smartphones, mobile gadgets, and wearable sports fitness gear, the medical industry has steadily trended toward improved portability of...

The Value of USP Class VI Testing for Medical Device Cable and Wire

To design and successfully sell medical devices, manufacturers must ask themselves a number of key questions. What range of functions should this product offer? In what type of...

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Faulty Test Results

No discipline is as precise as the design and manufacture of medical devices. No other function is as crucial in its precision. Exact measurements and tests are a critical necessity— from heart...

Vision Standards Make the Cut for Medical Imaging

From image-guided surgery to vision-equipped service robots, real-time video is enabling new levels of precision and treatment while driving fundamental changes in how healthcare services are...

Designing for Success with Molded Silicone Components

This article discusses ways to set up new projects for success and covers ideas for material selection, dimension and tolerance, and critical feature selection. Designing a silicone...

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...

Small Quantity/High Mix Tubing Offers Value to R&D Facilities

In the US, many high-volume tubing suppliers have moved production facilities overseas to low-cost producers like China or Mexico. Minimum buys are now the rule, leaving many US...

Tips To Make Your AK-225 Phase Out Successful

By now, you have probably already heard that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is phasing out the AK-225 solvent at the end of this year. This means that if you are currently using an...

Micro-Volume Fluid Dispensing for Disposable Medical Component Assembly

When one thinks of the term “disposable”, the first impression might be to associate the item as one being low cost and not requiring much precision in manufacturing....

The Pursuit of Design Democratization for Medical Devices

Advances in medical instrumentation, implantation, imaging, and telemetric technologies combined with the need to integrate medical devices into user’s activities of daily living is...

Meeting UDI Mandate Directly with Laser Marking

With the recent release of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s final unique device identifier (UDI) ruling, the race is on for medical manufacturers to comply with the newly proposed...

Long Live Quality! Why Cost Is no Longer the Most Important Factor in Bringing Products to Market

Medical device companies typically have a complex supply chain bringing products to market. Within their four walls, there are usually multiple...

CNC Technology Produces Precision Implants

Substantial legal requirements result in complex functional specifications for implant manufacturers. From the design, including materials, through production, the complete process chain must be...

Developing and Commercializing the First Robotic-Assisted System for the Catheterization Lab

The path to innovation is often long and full of challenges. For Corindus Vascular Robotics, the journey to develop the CorPath Vascular Robotic System...

Top Challenges for Today's Medical Device Designers: Winning the Space Race

The phrase, "May you live in interesting times" certainly applies to today's medical device design engineers, as they face unprecedented opportunities and challenges...

‘Intelligent’ Fluid Couplings Communicate Critical Device and Process Data

Like many other devices these days, a select group of fluid connectors can now be found in the growing ranks of “intelligent” products. In addition to moving...

Safety and Human Factors Engineering in Medical Device Design

Medical devices manufactured today require significant attention to safety and human factors engineering that has not always been exercised in medical device design. IEC safety...

Shaping the Next Generation of Cardiovascular Devices Through Biomedical Textile Engineering

The cardiovascular device market is growing, with research forecasting that the cardiac implant medical device market alone will exceed $27 billion by...

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...