Articles

Extrusion and Catheter Technologies Revolutionize Medical Device Design

Advancements in medical technology and material science have created new engineering challenges for medical devices used in minimally invasive interventional procedures....

Biomaterials Unlock Potential of Regenerative Medicine

Regenerative medicine (RM) holds the potential to address some of society’s most intractable health problems and restore or establish normal bodily function. Today, regenerative medicine...

Inspection for Perfection: How 3D Surface Profiling Tools Aid Implant Manufacturers

Surface texture and shape play critical roles in the successful integration, lifetime, and effectiveness of bioimplantable devices. A variety of techniques is...

Seven Advantages of Membrane Switches for Medical Electronics

With the large number of user interface options available today, it is easy to forget why the membrane switch is an excellent choice for medical instrumentation. The basic advantages...

The Automation of FDA Medical Device Design Controls

Every medical device company faces the challenge of navigating through the FDA’s mandatory regulations, and companies have different needs that change as they mature. Early-stage medical...

How Autoclavable Brushless DC Motors Can Simplify Surgical Instrument Design

Today, powered surgical hand tools are used in almost all surgical specialties: ENT, Orthopedics, Neurology, Eye, and Plastics. Initially pneumatic powered, surgical...

Three Criteria for Materials in Application Development

Application development for medical devices requires knowledge of material properties to support function, chemical compatibility with sanitizing cleaners and sterilization methods, as...

Matching Simulation Software Capabilities with Medical Design Needs

The product development process in the medical device field poses a demanding design environment for engineers and project managers. The design process often requires...

Accelerating Cure Times of Medical Silicone Adhesives With Infrared Radiation

Utilized in a wide variety of adhesion applications — from urinary catheters to cardiac pacemakers — one-part condensation-cure adhesives have traditionally been...

Successful Outsourcing from Start to Finish

Medical device OEMs face ongoing pressure to develop and commercialize innovative products faster, at lower costs, and in compliance with increasingly stringent regulatory standards. As in other...

Design of a System for Real-Time Online Monitoring and Process Control

The analytical techniques currently available to monitor chemical and biochemical production processes are difficult to apply in real time. Recent advances in solid-state...

Polymer Biomaterials Offer Possibilities for Orthopedic Implants

Since the 1950s and John Charnley’s introduction of the low friction hip prosthesis, metal-on-polyethylene bearings have remained the gold standard in terms of the long-term...

Optical Design Considerations and Performance-Critical Components for Ophthalmic Surgical Laser Systems

The application of femtosecond laser systems for eye surgeries has been a tremendous success story, not only driven by developments in new...

Enhancing Personal Health Monitoring Systems With FPGA Technology

With growing health awareness and the escalating cost of worldwide medical care, there is increasing emphasis on new and advanced technologies for disease prevention and early...

Managing Mechatronic Challenges in Medical Electronic Product Development

Most medical electronic systems now depend on combinations of hardware and software, forming elaborate mechatronic systems that both monitor and regulate patient health...

Reliability Modeling Software Helps Designers Get a Jump on Testing

Reliability test plans are critical to the success of any new electronic medical device or technology. The tests selected must be stressful enough to identify defects but also...

Product Development is Key Asset for Mold Manufacturers

Development of medical devices that are molded from thermoplastics or that have plastic components should begin with collaboration between the OEM’s engineering team and the mold...

Ultrasound Technique Breaks Down Blood Clots

Ultrasound has long been associated with diagnostic imaging, but it is increasingly being explored and utilized as a beneficial, non-invasive tool for applications ranging from surgery to therapy....

Innovative Soft Thermoplastic Urethanes for Medical Applications

Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) have historically been used as thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) for medical applications.1 The well-known biocompatibility, biostability,...

Preparing for and Navigating Material Changes

One of the phone calls that product managers fear most is a supplier notifying them that a material used in their product is being discontinued. The impending change forces a litany of...

Ultrasonic Atomization: Advanced Coating of Balloon Catheters

Major advances have been made in the past few decades in the percutaneous treatment of artery diseases. The development of each new technology has been spurred by the downfall of the...

Cleaning, Disinfection, and Sterilization Validations: Considerations in Reusable Device Design

Reusable devices face significant design challenges that single-use devices do not. A design engineer must think about how the device will perform...

Neuromodulation: Current Practice, Limitations, and Considerations

Right now, signals from your brain are instructing the muscles around each eye to contract, panning your view left to right and adjusting focus along the way. The photoreceptors...

Lessons Learned From Investigations of Product Failures

When a medical product fails in the field, everyone suffers — not just the patient, but also the manufacturer and its employees, investors, suppliers, and even competitors. No one wants...

Engineering a New Face After Craniofacial Injury

Today, surgeons face many limitations when it comes to helping a patient who suffers from a severe craniofacial injury, or an injury pertaining to the skull and the face. Most often a result of...

Comparative Analysis of Switch Technologies for Medical Equipment

Medical equipment and devices must be designed with rigorous standards to function in environments where patient safety and product reliability are critical. Today, there is...

Blood Flow Imaging: The Move From Qualitative to Quantitative Measurement

In 1985, Kasai, Namekawa, Koyana, and Omoto published a paper titled “Real-Time Two-Dimensional Blood Flow Imaging Using an Autocorrelation Technique” that changed...

The Power of Touch: How Projected Capacitive Touch Panels Enhance Medical Devices

The increasing popularity of smart phones and interactive netbooks are influencing other industries to incorporate a touch interface in their devices. Products...

OS Requirements for Medical Devices Explained

It doesn’t take much of a crystal ball to foresee that the way we deliver health care in the United States is going to be vastly different in the coming years. What is causing this change is...