May 1, 2008
Articles
Finally, medical records for the 21st century
Where are your medical records? If you're like me, they are probably on paper scattered across the country in several hospitals, doctor offices, and military warehouses. In other words, they are absolutely useless....
Surgical implants get automated inspection
Low-volume production often goes hand-in-hand with high costs, particularly when it involves small devices. Take Swiss-based DePuy Spine, for instance....
Connector on dental cam keeps image clean
A miniature dental imager includes an in-mouth camera about the size of a toothbrush and weighs only an ounce. The SuniCam camera from Suni Medical Imaging...
No tape needed to hold this trachea tube
Patients with tracheotomies face possible complications from the inserted tracheotomy tubes. Dislodged tubes can cause respiratory problems, so nurses...
How to train before skilled workers leave
The exodus of employees set to retire in the next few years means medical companies should transfer skills from seasoned and experienced employees to the more recent hires. To address this problem, the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (nims-skills.org) developed a way to train and certify company personnel responsible for On-the-Job Training...
Rubber gloves, heal thyself
A self-healing rubber that binds together after being punctured could pave the way for advanced surgical and wash-up gloves, self-healing shoes, and more. “You can feel the material mending itself when you hold the fractured sides together,” says inventor Ludwik Leibler. ...
Nanovalves may pinpoint drug delivery
A nanovalve that opens in response to pH changes could let a high-tech pill target diseased tissue. By filling a tiny, silica sphere with a drug and then...
Minnesota university launches regulatory studies
Like most government bureaucracies, the FDA is a challenge to deal with. To make it easier, St. Cloud State University in Minnesota has begun a program...
MD&M East – New York City
MD&M East New York City The 26th annual MD&M East show comes to the Javits Convention Center in New York City. The expo runs Tuesday to Thursday, June...
Gecko toes inspire tape for tissue
Researchers at MIT have developed a stretchy, biodegradable tape that could replace surgical sutures and staples. The sticky tape could also be made into...
RFID device tracks tumors and tallies doses
Injecting a wireless device into a tumor could tell doctors its exact position during radiation treatment and tally the precise dose of radiation received...
Diabetes drugs and devices to top $240 billion
The research report, Diabetes Therapies & Diagnostics: Global Markets, says therapeutics and diagnostics for the disease will be worth $213.8 billion in 2008. Reporting company BCC Research Inc., Westley, Mass. expects the figure to increase to over $241.9 billion by 2013, an average annual growth rate of 2.5%....
Heater helps a coating cover
Thin-film Parylene coatings protect many materials in medical applications because it conforms to all surfaces, edges, and crevices of a substrate for excellent protection from moisture and chemicals, and provides a dielectric barrier....
Webinar explores cleaning brushes for medical equipment
Does the equipment your company builds and ships include a brush for cleaning? And on what basis was that piece of equipment selected? To get an idea...
Physician-designer collaboration A success story
Doctors working with engineers build better devices...
What do TV channels have to do with medical devices? You need to know.
You've probably heard that television broadcasts are transitioning from analog to digital in February 2009. Digital channels uses less power and less bandwidth, so there's no need for what are called geographical guard bands. For example, in a city that has TV channel 19, the station may also license channels 18 or 20, which are practically unused, to prevent broadcasting interference....
BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS
Specialty Blades acquires Popper and Sons Specialty Blades Inc. (specialtyblades.com) and its medical-device division IncisionTech (incisiontech.com)...
Think slip clutches for soft starts
A slip clutch can often solve motion problems for medical-equipment designers at a lower cost and while lasting longer than alternate methods. ...
Plastic bearings for the medical industry
Plastic plain and linear bearings have emerged as an off-the-shelf, dimensionally interchangeable alternative to metal and ball bearings in many medical applications. Lubrication-free designs are clean and hygienic, letting them eliminate timely, expensive maintenance regimes. ...
When packaging electronics, don't forget the air filter
Packaging electrical and electronic medical devices includes sizing proper air filters. But ignore the task of specifying or building the filter till...
New acetal limits bacterial and fungal growth
Materials that restrict the growth of microorganisms on equipment and surfaces in the medical environment help control the potential for infection in...
Software on a chip lets devices talk
Vena technology is a software platform on a single chip that lets medical devices wirelessly transmit data. It uses low-cost wireless technology to send medical readings to a central monitor located in the home, or even to an online health record such as Google Health or Microsoft Health Vault. ...
Making it easy (and safer) to get a valve job
Open-heart surgery to replace a valve is always tricky. To give surgeons a little help in the procedure, engineers at Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, Calif.,...
Designing for surface treatments
Coating medical components and devices is often an afterthought for designers, rather than part of the early-stage discussion. Ignoring surface treatments...
Customizing the tube
Designs are calling for ever smaller and more capable medical devices, and many are made to last only one operation. Smaller tubes accommodate the trend to less invasive procedures because less traumatic procedures shorten patient recovery times. ...
Designing for manufacturing
You've heard of the buzzwords Kaizen, Six Sigma, Lean, JIT, and others. They get into the headlines because they are touted as ways to redefine businesses and save companies. ...
Dispensing and fillers
How to deposit 0.0001cc and more The DV509 pneumatic diaphragm valve is suitable for medical applications that require precise flow control of low to...
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Tiny ceramic oscillators RoHS-compliant MXH series oscillators come in a compact, hermetically sealed, surface-mount ceramic package. Well-suited for...
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