Medical Equipment Designer articles from November 1999

Medical Equipment Designer archives from November 1999

Designing for History.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... Engineer by day, environmental activist by night There is a group of volunteers on the banks of the Rio Grande who aren't too concerned about Y2K (or as they say: "Y2 Que'?") as we close this millennium. Okay, so maybe it's because they've...

Signs & Wonders.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... Rather than the usual photo of my mug accompanying this column, let me offer something infinitely more entertaining -- a highway sign on Interstate 80 in western New Jersey. With no other indication of what travelers might find by following the...

Singular Valve Solution Provides Precision and Patient Comfort.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... The patented technology in the quiet Lone Wolf valve combines a need for precision with the desire to improve patient comfort. The component is manufactured by Pneutronics Division, Parker Hannifin Corp., Hollis, NH. Extremely reliable, it...

Air Filter Solutions.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... Meet Medical Electronics needs Medical system enclosure demands are complicated by the fact that sophisticated electronics are shrinking in size. This design trend is prompting creative air filter solutions to provide cooling air and...

Surface Modification Process Improves Performance, Reliability.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... A new surface modification process called Duradyne from Tri-Star Technologies, El Segundo, CA, uses a plasma (electrically conductive, ionized gas) to increase the performance and reliability of medical products and components. The system,...

Vein Harvester Bridges Gap between Open Harvesting and Endoscopic Procedures.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... For more than 25 years, millions of patients have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) to combat heart disease, a leading cause of death in the U.S. An estimated 600,000 CABG procedures are performed each year, and...

Digital Imaging Enhances Nasal Spray R&D.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... A first-of-its-kind high-speed imaging system that greatly enhances nasal spray characterization, testing and development has been implemented by Muro Pharmaceutical, Tewksbury, MA. Developed by Image Therm Engineering, Waltham, MA, in...

MEMS relay array.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... Low-resistance switching for small space requirements Cronos Integrated Microsystems Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, has applied their experience in MEMS manufacturing technology to the creation of a 10switch relay microarray. Carried in...

UK researchers.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... UK researchers have developed an electronic nose for sniffing out infections, borrowing from Chinese doctors' long-held sense for scents. The Diag-Nose, invented by Drs. Selly Saini and Jan Leiferkus of Cranfield University's Centre for...

SDRAM.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... It is probably safe to say that DRAM is a victim of computer-enhanced natural selection. With all the various forms of SDRAM available, it's hard to determine which is the best for everything. And while the consumer electronics industry has not...

Reader Connection.(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 1999... Apple v. Microsoft In the article on Device Bay [July '99], I found it ironic that you were surprised the Mac would support the Device Bay through IEEE 1394 and USB. FYI, Apple invented IEEE1394 (also known as Fire Wire) back in the '80s...

Taking Operators Off the Off-Highway Vehicle.
November 1, 1999... Remotely-operated and autonomous vehicles for agriculture, toxic waste clean-up, military applications and more There is a rural romanticism a city-dweller associates with farming -- the smell of rich dark loam being turned, the sun's...

New ScopeCorder Reduces R&D Testing Time By 50%.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... Until a year and a half ago, electronic component manufacturer MGE UPS Systems, Inc., Costa Mesa, CA, used a traditional, 8-bit oscilloscope and a paper chart recorder in their R&D department. Setting up both instruments was tedious and...

BIRD-DOGGIN THE INTERNET.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... Patents & Trademarks II One of the first activities in a product development and improvement process is to scan the field to see what other designers are doing. One of the best ways to do this is to investigate prior art and intellectual...

Innovations May Increase Versatility, Reliability in Aircraft Design.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1999... Some engineering projects tend to be like minor renovations to the home -- one starts out with a fresh coat of paint in one room, and by day's end, the old furniture has been sold, walls have been knocked down, and the truck with the new...