Medical Design articles from May 2008

Medical Design archives from May 2008

Finally, medical records for the 21st century.(EDITORIAL)
May 1, 2008... 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. Now consider this: If you...

Surgical implants get automated inspection.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Low-volume production often goes hand-in-hand with high costs, particularly when it involves small devices. Take Swiss-based DePuy Spine, for instance. It makes small implants such as screws for spinal surgery that call for 100% inspection and...

Connector on dental cam keeps image clean.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... 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 Inc., San Jose, Calif. (sunimedical.com) lets dentists take pictures and show patients...

No tape needed to hold this trachea tube.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Patients with tracheotomies face possible complications from the inserted tracheotomy tubes. Dislodged tubes can cause respiratory problems, so nurses often tape them in place. "This common fix prompted us to look for ways to make tracheotomy...

How to train before skilled workers leave.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... 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...

Rubber gloves, heal thyself.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... 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,"...

Nanovalves may pinpoint drug delivery.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... 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 plugging its pores with the valves, researchers can use pH changes to control the drug's...

Minnesota University launches regulatory studies.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... 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 that helps companies learn how to work with the FDA. Heading the project is Medtronic Inc....

MD&M East -- New York City.(MD&M EAST PREVIEW)
May 1, 2008... The 26th annual MD&M East show comes to the Javits Convention Center in New York City. The expo runs Tuesday to Thursday, June 3 to 5, and conferences run June 2 to 5. Visit mdmeast.com for more information and to register. New to the show this...

Deburr bone screws quickly with new blaster.(MD&M EAST PREVIEW)
May 1, 2008... Visitors to the show can try out AccuFlo, an abrasive blaster equipped with Simoom Technology--a system of mixing air and abrasive to improve flow consistency. The result is tighter control over the volume of powder flowing through the machine....

Configurable component tech seminar to be held during show.(MD&M EAST PREVIEW)
May 1, 2008... Highlighted at this year's show are Misumi's single-axis actuators, linear shafts, linear guides, locating pins, aluminum extrusions, rollers, and more. Most components useful to medical equipment are configurable, with downloadable CAD files...

Holes as small as 10 um in ceramics.(MD&M EAST PREVIEW)
May 1, 2008... PPC precision ceramic machining and extrusion methods make extruded rods, tubes, and irregular shapes held to sub-micron tolerances with an extraordinary level of concentricity, eccentricity, and end-to-end straightness. Ceramics, known for...

Heavy-duty coolant for device machining.(MD&M EAST PREVIEW)
May 1, 2008... Hocut 795-B is a metalworking fluid used to manufacture products for orthopaedics, implants, cardiology, diagnostics, and surgical instruments. The fluid is a water-soluble coolant for machining 300 and 400-series stainless steel, titanium, and...

Gecko toes inspires tape for tissue.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Researchers at MIT have developed a stretchy, biodegradable tape that could replace surgical sutures and staples. The sticky tape could also be made into drug-delivery patches for placement directly on organs, including the heart. The tape,...

RFID device tracks tumors and tallies doses.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Injecting a wireless device into a tumor could tell doctors its exact position during radiation treatment and tally the precise dose of radiation received during treatment. The information would help to more effectively kill tumors, says Babak...

Diabetes drugs and devices to top $240 billion.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... 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., (bccresearch.com) expects the...

Heater helps a coating cover.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... 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. But the...

Webinar explores cleaning brushes for medical equipment.(MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... 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 of what might clean better and ramifications of doing so, join Medical Design and...

Physician-designer collaboration--a success story.(INDUSTRY VIEWPOINT)
May 1, 2008... A physician with an idea for a medical device must know what he or she wants, but cooperation with a designer determines how to get it. My feeling has always been that tossing an idea to an engineer isn't enough to create a product or solve a...

What do TV channels have to do with medical devices? You need to know.(FDA & REGULATIONS)
May 1, 2008... 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...

Specialty Blades acquires Popper and Sons.(BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS)
May 1, 2008... Specialty Blades Inc.(specialtyblades.com) and its medical device division IncisionTech (incisiontech.com) have acquired specialty needle and metal-tubing manufacturer Popper and Sons Inc. (popperandsons.com) the firm's principle market...

Laser manufacturer expands in Florida.(BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS)
May 1, 2008... Fonon Technology International (laserphotonics.com) has relocated to a 319,800 [ft.sup.2] facility in Lake Mary, Fla. Manufacturing gets 65% of the space and will help contribute to FTI's move towards lean manufacturing. The new building is...

Morgan Advanced Ceramics earns ISO 13356.(BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS)
May 1, 2008... Morgan Advanced Ceramics says its Y-ZTP Zirconia has received ISO13356 certification for "Implants for Surgery using Non-metallic Materials." The material is used in the manufacture of its ceramic injection-molded dental abutments and copings....

PolyOne buys GLS.(BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS)(Company overview)
May 1, 2008... Specialized polymer manufacturer PolyOne Corp., Avon Lake, Ohio (polyone.com) has completed its acquisition GLS Corp., a blender of specialty thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) for medical applications. This acquisition complements PolyOne's...

Phase II Medical set to expand.(BUSINESS NEWS FROM CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS)
May 1, 2008... Design and contract manufacturer Phase II Medical Manufacturing, Rochester, N.H. (phaseiimed.com) says it will expand and upgrade its manufacturing facility by adding 1,500 [ft.sup.2] of clean room and an enterprise resource planning (ERP)...

Think slip clutches for soft starts: a slip clutch in a medical device can avoid sudden starts and stops that might jar delicate devices or solutions.(MEDICAL MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2008... A slip clutch can often solve motion problems for medical-equipment designers at a lower cost and while lasting longer than alternate methods. For example, in the automation of medical manufacturing, slip clutches provide soft starts for...

Plastic bearings for the medical industry.(MOTION CONTROL)
May 1, 2008... 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...

When packaging electronics, don't forget the air filter.(PACKAGING WRAP-UP)
May 1, 2008... Packaging electrical and electronic medical devices includes sizing proper air filters. But ignore the task of specifying or building the filter till late in the design cycle and it can become challenging, costly, and time consuming. The...

New acetal limits bacterial and fungal growth.(DESIGNING WITH ADVANCED MATERIAL)
May 1, 2008... Materials that restrict the growth of microorganisms on equipment and surfaces in the medical environment help control the potential for infection in hospitals, clinics, and doctor's offices. The latest such material is a family of acetal...

Software on a chip lets devices talk.(ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS)
May 1, 2008... 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...

Making it easy (and safer) to get a valve job.(INNOVATIONS)
May 1, 2008... 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., (www.edwards.com) developed the Tricentrix holder. The device makes it easier to hold...

Designing for surface treatments: the correct surface treatment on medical equipment prevents corrosive fluids from damaging expensive parts or clogging carousels in critical equipment.
May 1, 2008... Coating medical components and devices is often an afterthought for designers, rather than part of the early-stage discussion. Ignoring surface treatments in early phases means risking longer product cycle times because design properties may be...

Customizing the tube: when the tube you need is not in a catalog, consider these possibilities before approaching manufacturers.
May 1, 2008... 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...

Designing for manufacturing: even though DFM takes costs out of designs and speeds manufacturing, it is one of the most overlooked and undervalued tools available.
May 1, 2008... 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. Without question, these are valuable tools that manufacturers can...

How to deposit 0.0001cc and more.(TECH SPOTLIGHT: Dispensing and fillers)
May 1, 2008... The DV509 pneumatic diaphragm valve is suitable for medical applications that require precise flow control of low to medium-viscosity liquids such as cyanoacrylates, reagents, UV adhesives, and volatile substances where the wetted parts must be...

Placing dots on tiny parts.(TECH SPOTLIGHT: Dispensing and fillers)
May 1, 2008... PicoDot jet dispensing systems work well for applying adhesives, coatings, and fluids to miniature parts. Because the dispensers do not contact the substrate, they can deposit controlled amounts of fluid on hard-to-access areas, uneven...

Gentle material dispensing into aseptic vials.(TECH SPOTLIGHT: Dispensing and fillers)
May 1, 2008... The FMB210 filler provides an aseptic operation that combines the security of sterile containment and a gentle peristaltic-dispensing action to safely and accurately fill injectable products into vials. The technology features a sterile fill...

Tiny ceramic oscillators.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... RoHS-compliant MXH series oscillators come in a compact, hermetically sealed, surface-mount ceramic package. Well-suited for use in devices such as heartmonitoring machines, the oscillators measure only 2 x 2.5 mm. They come in a frequency...

Got a cable question? Ask here.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... A manufacturer of flexible flat-cable assemblies has launched its redesigned website that features all new product and technical content. For instance, the Technical Information section includes design guides for flexible flat cables,...

Lube-free bearings and liners are low maintenance.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... DryLin slide tables have lubrication-free iglide plastic liners, which makes them completely maintenance-free. These liners also have a low coefficient of friction, resist wear and contamination, and can last in applications where expensive...

Catalog for automation and control components.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... The Electric Drives and Controls group offers a 165-page, full-color catalog, Automation Systems and Control Components, with information on automation systems for medical applications, including the IndraLogic open PLC system and the...

Guide to cabinet enclosures and accessories.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... A product catalog show enclosures and accessories for medical, defense-aerospace, datacom-networking, and more. The Optima catalog includes information on cabinet enclosures, wall-mount cases, electronic cases, 19-in. racks, command consoles...

More than just machined springs.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... Machined springs combine the elastic properties of materials, such as high-strength steels, aluminum, and titanium, with a curved helical beam for precise deflection rates for compression, extension, torsion, lateral bending and lateral...

Lightpipes don't lose color.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... Recent lightpipes have optional barriers that prevent color mixing from adjacent rows, a useful feature in medical diagnostic equipment. Each pipe in the LED array can block interfering light from other pipes. Sometimes these pipes are so close...

New 3D printer delivers stronger models.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... The Dimension 1200es Series features a 10 x 10 x 12-in. build size and prints models with ABSplus, a material with about 40% stronger than standard Stratasys ABS plastic. The 1200es meets market demand for a networked, 3D printer, capable of...

This pen remembers what you write.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... Rover INK is a pen that stores the words and sentences you write such as during device reviews, and off loads that data to a station that interprets and converts it into typed text. A tiny camera captures pen strokes of up to 70/sec and records...

Digital mammography display.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... A high-contrast, 10-bit grayscale display for use in mammography and other medical applications is intended to help radiologists more effectively screen for breast cancer. Current displays that rely on standard PC workstations are limited to...

Servo with flywheel has 10 times inertia.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... The MaxPlus-J (MPJ) motor is for medical and other demanding applications in high-performance servo systems. MPJ motors offer the same design specs as Parker's MaxPlus-Plus motors but with higher inertia. It comes from a special inertia...

Power supplies mount on PCBs.(PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)
May 1, 2008... The single-output ZPSA20 series of compact PCB-mountable 20-watt ac-dc power supplies accepts a range of input voltages, sports a 0.79-in. profile, and has an industry standard footprint of 2 x 3.5 in. The supplies, useful in medical...

ISPE--perspectives on regulatory trends and observations.(MEETINGS & SHOWS)(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... June 2 to 5 - In this FDA-cosponsored event, find answers to questions about meeting regulatory requirements. In a town hall setting, hear directly from dozens of FDA regulators, pose questions on your most pressing issues and get candid...

Integration and commercialization of micro and nanosystems.(MEETINGS & SHOWS)(Calendar)(Conference notes)
May 1, 2008... June 3 to 5 - The conference focuses on state-of-the-art research and development in micro and nano-scale phenomena, devices, systems, manufacturing, as well as the commercialization of these technologies. The conference will consist of plenary...

Global device protection through partnerships.(MEETINGS & SHOWS)(Calendar)(Conference notes)
May 1, 2008... June 7 to 11 - The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO)--a non-profit organization of local, state, and federal government officials, academia and industry leaders, will hold its annual Educational Conference in Anaheim, Calif. The...

Sensors Expo & Conference.(MEETINGS & SHOWS)(Calendar)(Conference notes)
May 1, 2008... June 9 to 11 - The Sensors Expo & Conference focuses exclusively on sensors and sensor-integrated systems. The conference program is dedicated to exploring the most up-to-date innovations in sensor technology including physical sensors, sensor...

Forum on design for manufacture and assembly.(MEETINGS & SHOWS)(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... June 10 and 11 - The DFMA forum covers methods and software, and it will be of strong interest to anyone interested in design excellence and reducing product costs. A highlight of this year's Forum is a keynote address by Purchasing magazine...

Medical Molding and Extrusion 2008.(MEETINGS & SHOWS)(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... June 17 and 18 - Medical Molding and Extrusion 2008 is the third international device manufacturing conference for the medical industry to discuss device development and manufacturing. It takes place at the Maritim Hotel on the banks of the...

Medical myths revealed.(RECOVERY ROOM)
May 1, 2008... We've all grown up hearing things like reading in dim light damages your eyes, you need to drink eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy, and shaving your legs makes your hair grow back faster and coarser. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

FDA recalls hot pot pies.(RECOVERY ROOM)
May 1, 2008... The FDA is recalling a few thousand pot pies made in the last five days by several food companies, according to a recently posted video. The serious-looking FDA official making the announcement requested that those returning the pies make sure...

Hospital ranks.(RECOVERY ROOM)
May 1, 2008... Surgeon: Leaps tall buildings in a single bound Is more productive than a train Is faster than a speeding bullet Walks on water Talks with God Internist: Leaps short buildings in a single bound Is more...