Medical Design articles from March 2008

Medical Design archives from March 2008

More of the same won't fix the FDA.(EDITORIAL)
March 1, 2008... It seems the FDA just can't catch a break. Almost on the heels of releasing the improved MDUFMA agreements, an updated list of fees the agency charges OEMs to review new products before allowing commercial introduction, the agency has come...

Steppers point the laser with precision.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
March 1, 2008... X-rays aren't the only way to get a good picture of biologic detail. A recent blood-circulation scanner lets small stepper motors quickly position a laser to sweep over a grid of adjustable size. The device lets doctors quickly confirm...

FDA proposes to ease rules on off-label use of devices.(FDA & REGULATIONS)(Reprint)
March 1, 2008... The FDA recommended new guidelines that would let medical-device manufacturers distribute medical-journal articles that reference unapproved, or off-label, uses of FDA-approved drugs and medical devices to doctors. "Articles that discuss...

FDA inching towards more informal communication.(FDA & REGULATIONS)
March 1, 2008... When Congress reauthorized MDUFMA it also established a more aggressive set of performance goals. To meet these goals, both the FDA and regulated industry agreed to a more formalized interactive review process to encourage and facilitate...

Commerce department says Patent Reform Act is not quite right.(FDA & REGULATIONS)
March 1, 2008... The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a statement to Congress opposing the recent Patent Reform Act because of a section regarding infringement damages. "Unless the provisions limiting inventors' rights to obtain damages are significantly...

Polymer with sensors let amputees feel.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
March 1, 2008... Combining carbon nanotubes with a polymer produces a material that looks, feels, and functions like human skin. For instance, it generates electricity in response to pressure or force, so you can measure pressure applied to its surface, says...

DOE wants to give away time on its supercomputers.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
March 1, 2008... Need faster hardware for an upcoming project? The Department of Energy's Office of Science is giving away time on its supercomputers. The agency says it has awarded 265 million processor-hours to 55 scientific projects in 2008, the largest...

Software helps design a smaller proton accelerator to zap tumors.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
March 1, 2008... One way to treat cancer with minimal damage to healthy tissue is to zap tumors with a proton beam. Proton therapy systems have been around since the 1950s. But until now, the units were as big as entire hospitals with costs over $100 million....

Molding silicone and thermoplastic together.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
March 1, 2008... To explain the benefits of two-shot silicone and thermoplastic molding, Medical Design and Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics are holding a one-hour webcast on April 2 at 2 PM EST. The presentation by engineering manager Charles Klann includes...

Sustainable design for medical devices.(INDUSTRY VIEWPOINT)
March 1, 2008... Medical products account for an enormous amount of the solid, industrial, and chemical waste in developed countries throughout the world. In the U.S. alone, hospitals produce more than 6,600 tons of waste per day, including 800 tons of...

RevZero launches contract manufacturing operation.(BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS)
March 1, 2008... With construction of a new 15,000 ft2 facility in Chanhassen, Minn. nearly complete, RevZero Inc. (revzeroinc.com) is open for business. The company says its operation is designed from the ground up to support rapid prototype machining and...

Ametek acquires Cameca SAS.(BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS)
March 1, 2008... Ametek Inc., Paoli, Pa., (ametek.com) has acquired Cameca SAS, a manufacturer of high-end elemental analysis equipment used in advanced laboratory research, nanotechnology, and semiconductor applications. Paris-based Cameca, with estimated...

Hiemstra approved to manufacture in cleanroom.(BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS)
March 1, 2008... Design firm Hiemstra Product Development, San Francisco (hiemstra.com) has received Food and Drug Branch approval from the California Department of Health Services' Division of Food, Drug and Radiation Safety to manufacture class I to III...

TUV to verify EMC compliance.(BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS)
March 1, 2008... Testing and certification organization TUV SUD America, Danvers, Mass. (tuvamerica.com) says it has been recognized as a Notified Body, able to perform services related to EMC Directive 2004/108/EC. The European Commission acknowledged the firm...

Incubator ready to hatch businesses.(BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS)
March 1, 2008... Biomaterials firm Polymer Technology Group (PTG), Berkeley, Calif., (polymertech.com), has spunoff a life-sciences incubator, Emergence LLC (emergence-llc.com). Emergence will have access to PTG's staff and facilities for developing medical...

Small machines for small parts.(MEDICAL MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY)
March 1, 2008... Several manufacturing operations are available for the fabrication of micro parts, components with feature sizes less than 1 mm. Such operations include micromolding, microforming, laser machining, and mechanical micromachining, to name a few....

Removing cogging from brushless motor systems.(MOTION CONTROL)
March 1, 2008... Motion-control designers are consistently confronted with increasing demands for higher performance. Requirements for greater efficiency and lower costs provide the motivation. And those lead to systems with higher throughput thanks to higher...

Packaging ideas for medical-device kits.(PACKAGING WRAP-UP)
March 1, 2008... Recent developments allow boosting productivity and making medical products more traceable with printn-pack systems that combine printing, bar coding, and packaging. For instance, relatively new bag-on-a-roll products are a way to streamline...

Lead-free plastics for x-ray shielding.(DESIGNING WITH ADVANCED MATERIALS)
March 1, 2008... Lead is commonly used in xray-based medical devices as a housing or component material to limit radiation exposure to operators and patients. Its high density (specific gravity: 11.35) lets it absorb x-rays. It's also manufacturing-friendly due...

Elastomer allows welding clear tubes.(TODAY'S TUBING TECHNOLOGY)
March 1, 2008... A maker of weldable tubing says it can now join clear tubes without compromising strength. Sure Bond tubing is a three-layer coextruded tube with a polyethylene inner layer to prevent absorption, a proprietary middle layer for adhesion, and an...

Switchmode power supplies meet EMC demands and more.(DESIGNING WITH ELECTRONICS)
March 1, 2008... When designing electronic equipment, a consideration for safety takes precedence over all others. This concern is just as important in industrial equipment as it is in medical applications. It might be tempting to think that power supplies...

Did you take your pills?(INNOVATIONS)
March 1, 2008... Medicines are getting better but only half the people with chronic healthcare problems take their medications as directed. The rest often miss a day or two or take the wrong pills, causing an estimated 10% of all hospital stays and up to 24% of...

Stimulating the brain: deep-brain stimulators have come a long way since the FDA first approved them in 1997. researchers know more about how the brain works and are applying neurostimulation to disorders such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and traumatic brain injury.
March 1, 2008... Over the past decade, therapy by neurostimulation has become one of the fastest growing areas in the medicaldevice industry. Neurostimulation uses low levels of electricity to treat medical conditions affecting different parts of the central...

New eyes for medical imaging: greater detail, moving pictures, and holographic images are a few changes coming into wider use in hospitals and clinics.
March 1, 2008... At least three technology-based trends are shaping medical imaging. One is the greater detail from CT and MRI equipment that captures and processes more data in one scan. That's good for patients because shorter CTs expose them to less...

Don't machine metal parts build them: direct metal laser sintering builds solid metal parts from powder.
March 1, 2008... A rapid-manufacturing technology called direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) builds solid metal parts directly from powdered metals, complimenting or sometimes even replacing traditional machining. DMLS provides a wide range of part properties,...

Optics for medical applications: index of refraction, centration, and surface quality are just a few characteristics that define the optical elements in systems.
March 1, 2008... The quality of optics in medical devices can mean the difference between correct or incorrect diagnoses. Hence, a decision as to what material to make the optics from can affect system performance. In addition to material, the optics in medical...

Adhesives keep transparent dressings clear.(TECH SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2008... A line of transparent dressing adhesives are made from polyester and polyethylene casting sheets to accommodate different converting methods and dressing styles. Ideal for wound dressings and securing catheters and IVs, the adhesives have a...

Electrically conductive adhesive.(TECH SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2008... Electrically conductive pressure-sensitive adhesives are for electrical interconnections in devices such as electrodes, defibrillators, and biosensors. These products require a uniform conductive adhesive for stability and consistency with...

Adhesives work with Noryl resins.(TECH SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2008... Adchem tapes have been successfully tested with Noryl resins from Sabic Innovative Plastics. Rubber and acrylic adhesive chemistries on the tapes provide many ways for mounting and bonding to foam materials depending on the performance...

Goes on blue, dries clear, and safe for medical tasks.(TECH SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2008... Adhesives formulated with See-Cure technology are bright blue when uncured. This makes them easy to see on the surface of substrates, in deep wells, or when sandwiched between two layers of materials. The blue-colored adhesives will not...

Cyanoa crylates attach difficult-to-bond materials.(TECH SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2008... Fast-setting Permatex brand ZipGrip cyanoacrylate adhesives eliminate the need for fixturing and are ideal for bonding or repairing plastics, metals, rubber, and other materials. The adhesives are available in a range of viscosities from liquid...

Tough adhesive withstands severe conditions.(TECH SPOTLIGHT)
March 1, 2008... Master Bond EP11SIC is a silverfilled epoxy-resin system with high electrical and thermal conductivity. It has the convenience of a one-component system in addition to flexible cure schedules. It adheres well to metallic and nonmetallic...

Fluid dispenser meets RoHS.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... A RoHS compliant digital dispenser, model SL101, sits on a bench and is self teaching. The CE approved unit has a bright LCD and 10 memory locations to store 10 programs. Operating modes include autocycling, a manual mode dispenses material by...

A seal for ultra-clean conditions.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... Variseal Ultra-Clean uses an enclosed spring to activate the seal, thus ensuring cleanliness while it works. The best material for the ultra-clean seal is Turcon MF, a proprietary PTFE for super clean environments. Turcon MF compounds are...

Controllers for LCD monitors.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... The DVS-1600 controller addresses a range of TFT LCD monitor applications with many inputs and features. The DVS-1600's flexible port architecture now provides physical inputs for DVI, VGA, S-Video and Composite Video, along with a wide range...

Power supply mounts on DIN rails.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... Lambda extends its DPP family of DIN rail-mount power supplies with the addition of 120 and 240-watt models. The new DPP120 and DPP240 series provide an economical solution for mid-power factory automation and process-control applications. The...

Hospital cordset reaches 20 ft.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... A new North American hospital-grade cordset reaches 20 ft. The green dot on the cords and cordsets indicate they have been designed and tested for grounding reliability, assembly integrity, strength, and durability for use in hospital and...

7,500 pieces/hr from programmable cutter.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... The MMC200 cuts round or flat material up to 100-mm wide by 16-mm thick. The unit can cut multiple pieces of the same material at one time. The microprocessor-controlled unit is easily programmed to cut any length (in inches or millimeters),...

Clever feature extends heater relay life.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... A NO-ARC relay is a mechanical device with arc suppression from smart electronics. It reduces the amount of arcing across relay contacts and greatly extends the life of the relay. When a control signals a product to turn on, NO-ARC technology...

Polymer thick films build a better heater.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... Disposable sensors used in tasks such as blood-glucose monitoring and EKGs, uses Parlex's Polymer Thick Film (PTF) technology. These products are easily designed and manufactured for cost-effectiveness and fast turn-around. PTF increases...

Elastomer makes earphones more comfortable.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... Earbuds provide the function of an earphone yet sit next to the ear so users avoid the discomfort of inserting them into the ear canal. An earbud accessory called Lobie is made of soft, lightweight Versaflex CL30, a thermoplastic elastomer. The...

Valves ready for oxygen service.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... The Oxygen Clean series of electronic valves are for use on oxygen lines and work well in low-pressure pneumatic applications for compressed air. The new valve is ultrasonically cleansed, assembled, inspected, and tested in an enclosed and...

RFID wizard for labeling software.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... The RFID Wizard in Easylabel software lets users create EPC (Electronic product code) and DoD smart labels. The wizard prompts for necessary information and then does the rest. RFID projects that do not require the EPC or DoD RFID code can use...

Vinyl compounds in wide durometer range.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... Geon HC vinyl compounds are available for the healthcare industry. The materials feature flexible injection molding and extrusion grade vinyl compounds with a wide durometer range. These compounds are available from a low 60 Shore A through...

Nonmetalic bearings for the medical industry.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... An iglide bearings brochure is geared towards the medical industry. Iglide and DryLin for Medical and Laboratory Equipment includes product data about the company's plain plastic bearings and linear guide systems, as well as various medical...

Drawing software for healthcare.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... SmartDraw.com launched its Healthcare Edition 2008, a program that automates the task of creating healthcare graphics including patient handouts, anatomical diagrams, treatment protocols, timelines, flowcharts, and more. The software uses...

Metal injection molding for net-shaped parts.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
March 1, 2008... Metal injection molding (MIM) allows manufacturing highly detailed, intricate parts that can weigh less than one gram. Proprietary injection molding produces net-shaped components to reduce the number of parts through design approaches that for...