In an effort to improve patient safety and device durability, Mindray has incorporated Eastman’s medical polymers into its current generation of patient monitors. Used in healthcare facilities throughout North America, the Passport Series of bedside monitors,...

As in any industry, new technologies and material choices present new opportunities and challenges for OEMs looking to build brand equity, bring products to market faster, and meet consumer demand. Medical device manufacturers are faced...

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are critical components in many medical devices. Prior to shipment to the OEM, PCBs must undergo a thorough cleaning process to remove excess solder, rosins, and other contaminants at the end of the manufacturing cycle. If not cleaned properly, PCBs...

Incidents of nosocomial or healthcare acquired infections (HAIs) and bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics (“superbugs”) are a concern for U.S. FDA. These ongoing incidents have heightened FDA’s attention to manufacturers of reprocessed medical devices. Manufacturers need to...

Board cleaning is perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects of printed circuit board (PCB) assembly. But savvy medical electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have a keen sense of the importance it plays to ensure their products are free of miniscule flaws, defects, debris, and dust....

Component manufacturers are continually developing new and smaller packages for components that are mere fractions of a millimeter and have board to component clearances of less than a mil. Pick and place machines have new accessories that allow placement of these almost invisible parts....

A team of scientists at the University College London (UCL) have developed a new antibacterial material that could help cut hospital-acquired infections. They used a combination of two dyes with nanoscopic particles of gold, which, they say, is deadly to bacteria when activated by light, including...

Digicom Electronics, Inc., Oakland, CA, a technology and quality- driven electronics manufacturing services company, introduces its new Diamond Track Cleaning Process. This process uses a proprietary combination of chemicals, temperature, wash cycles, timing, and equipment that results in printed circuit boards with...

ITW Highland Manufacturing (Waterbury, CT) offers in-house ultrasonic cleaning and testing capabilities to meet specifications for medical applications. Gravimetric, optical, and quantitative analysis of particle contamination is performed after cleaning parts. The gravimetric analysis employs filters, a cleaning...

Reusable devices face significant design challenges that single-use devices do not. A design engineer must think about how the device will perform not only during the first use, but for every subsequent use. Many medical devices need to be able to...