Medical Design articles from November 1 2004

Medical Design archives from November 1 2004

Gruesome pictures as preventive medicine.(Medical Edge)
November 1, 2004... The National Center for Health Statistics (www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm) recently released stats on causes of death in Americans. You can review them on their Web site. Most categories are recognizable except for ninth and tenth places....

MD&M West: hits California in January.(Industry News)(Medical Device and Manufacturing West)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Medical Device and Manufacturing West will be held January 10 to 12, 2005 at the Anaheim Convention Center. The show features companies in contract manufacturing, component fabrication, adhesives, electronics, assembly, motion control, testing...

CryoVascular Systems.(Food and Drug Administration approves PolarCath CryoPlasty System cathetars)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The FDA has approved a below-the-knee treatment of arterial blockages. The PolarCath CryoPlasty System from CryoVascular Systems, Los Gatos, Calif. treats clogged arteries by dilating and cooling them to -10[degrees]C with a balloon filled with...

A new program at Microfabrica builds small devices using Efab (electrochemical fabrication) technology at relatively low cost.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A new program at Microfabrica builds small devices using Efab (electrochemical fabrication) technology at relatively low cost. The company is partnering with the MOSIS Service to make Efab technology available through multi-project runs. in...

New England Wire Technologies Corp. has purchased an equity interest in Tri Wire Technology Ltd. located in Dongguan, China.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... New England Wire Technologies Corp. has purchased an equity interest in Tri Wire Technology Ltd. located in Dongguan, China. Both companies will expand each other's businesses with New England Wire Technologies marketing and selling products...

A recent report by electronics-industry researchers IMS Research shows large growth in the North and South American small-motor market.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A recent report by electronics-industry researchers IMS Research shows large growth in the North and South American small-motor market. Some suppliers experienced as much as 40% growth in motor sales in the first quarter of 2004. Double-digit...

Compact laser writes with light.(Industry News)
November 1, 2004... VectorMark precision laser marking is used for industrial and commercial marking tasks. The system offers a space-efficient, reliable, and easy-to-use laser marking system. The VectorMark is available as an OEM-component for integration in...

Tiny pressure sensors detect 0 to 1 psi.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... ASDX and ASDXL series microstructure pressure sensors come in models that can detect 0 to 1 psi, 0 to 100 psi, 0 to 5 in., and 0 to 10 in. of water. The units have ASIC enhanced outputs, a widely compensated temperature range from 0 to...

Ceramic components.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... Ceramic LM Guide Type RCR, Ceramic LM Guide Type RSR, Ceramic LM Guide HCR, and Ceramic Ball Spline LT products use ceramic rails, blocks, and in most cases, ceramic balls. The use of ceramic components, titanium stoppers, and resin circulation...

Linear positioners.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... The EZ Limo EZS and EZHS motorized sliders are linear postioners driven by stepper motors and ball-screws. Units come with stroke lengths of 50 to 500 mm with a maximum load of 30 kg. The EZS will reach maximum horizontal speeds of 300 mm/sec,...

Two-phase stepper.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... The ADM 0620 two-phase stepper motor has a 6-mm OD, 9.3-mm length, and 1.4-gm weight. Designed for 3 and 6 V, the ADM 0620's inertial rotor moment is 0.7 x [10.sup.-9] kg-[m.sup.2] and angular acceleration reaches 165,000 rad/sec for a power...

Medical power supplies.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... AC/DC switching medical grade power supplies are available in an open-frame single-quad with active PFC. They output from 120 to 200W and are for indoor use only. Input frequency can range from 47 to 63 Hz. Output voltages can be specified at...

Fine screens.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... Screens made by photoetching are said to be burr-free with high tolerance holes and dimensional stability. MicroEtch screens target applications requiring frequent cleaning or where there is mechanical contact. The fixed openings will not...

Controller detects stalls.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... TMCM-303 and TMCM-310 three-axis controllers are compact step-motor controllers. The TMCM-303 controls one to three axes, has an output current of up to 1.5 A/phase, and is capable of supporting 16 x microstepping. It can be remote controlled...

Thermally conductive epoxy.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... EP34AN, a room-temperature curing, two-part epoxy adhesive/sealant, features a thermal conductivity of 22 to 24 BTU/in/ft/hr/[degrees]F. Physical properties are maintained even after long exposure to temperatures from 400 to 450[degrees]F. The...

Small, precision leadscrews.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... Comprised of small-diameter, precision-rolled, leadscrew assemblies, the Mini Series provides reliable precision motion control at as little as a tenth the cost of miniature ball screws. The Mini Series is built to last hundreds of millions of...

Stacking chips saves space.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... The MicroZ Multi-chip technology family resolves technical and business challenges inherent with today's multi chip products. MicroZ package solutions are required to optimize performance and reliability while meeting product space constraints...

A better overmolded bond.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... A new silicone bonding process for medical and dental applications improves medical instrument safety, design, and function with a bond seal integrity that meets medical requirements for repeated autoclave sterilization. The process creates a...

2.5-mm check valves.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... The 2.5-mm dia. CCPI series Press-In Chek is the smallest cartridge style check valve available. Intended for installations into plastics, the low-leak valve features a barbed design that provides easy "press-in" installation, ensuring...

Adhesive dispenser for biotech assemblies.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... The Dispense Jet DJ-9000 solves challenges in constructing assemblies of many medical devices and biotech products through precise, high-speed delivery of a wide variety of fluids, including UV-cure adhesives, encapsulates, conductive epoxies,...

15 new molded cordsets.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... U.K./Ireland cordsets handle equipment rated from 5 to 13 amps with service at 250 Vac. They are ASTA approved and available with a 5, 10, or 13 amp BS 1362 fuse. The cordsets are available with 0.75, 1.00, or 1.50 mm HAR cable in stock lengths...

MD&M Minneapolis draws 7,000 buyers.(Product seen at MD&M Minneapolis)(Medical Design and Manufacturing)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) in Minneapolis ran October 20 to 21 and attracted nearly 700 exhibitors and 7,000 OEM buyers. The show is held annually to showcase regional and international suppliers of manufacturing equipment, contract...

Electrically insulating coating.(Product spotlight: materials)
November 1, 2004... Diamonex carbon coatings (DLC) have good chemical resistance, low friction, electrical insulation, and biocompatibility. This makes the diamond-like coatings good for a variety of applications, including catheters, surgical instruments,...

Custom PEEK polymers.(Product spotlight: materials)
November 1, 2004... Custom PEEK polymers Invibio's PEEK-Classix polymer is a US Pharmacopoeia Class VI thermoplastic. It's used in applications requiring blood or tissue contact of less than 30 (lays, including catheters, surgical instruments, analytical...

Sorbothane parts isolate vibration.(Product spotlight: materials)
November 1, 2004... A new 8-page brochure describes the physical properties of Sorbothane. It includes images of standard and custom components and offers performance curves comparing Sorbothane to other elastomers. Sorbothane is a proprietary polyurethane,...

Inspecting small components with CT scanners.(Looking For Trouble Inside Parts and Assemblies)
November 1, 2004... Inspection and functional analysis of small injection-molded components and assemblies calls for a completely new way of thinking. For example, non-conventional hardware and software used in a unique combination provide more detailed and...

Acoustic micro imaging boosts reliability: ultrasound and CT scans can also inspect electrical components and injection-molded assemblies to spot defects that easily sneak past assembly-line test.(Looking For Trouble Inside Parts and Assemblies)
November 1, 2004... Maintaining electrical reliability during the service life of a medical device is largely a matter of preventing small errors. At the component level, these errors consist mostly of electrical opens and shorts--a lifted lead on a component, or...

Building a case for enclosures: medical-device enclosures can be simple or complex. But they all must be tested to meet electrical standards.
November 1, 2004... Electrical enclosures are often one of the last parts of the design considered. But in medical devices, the encasement can be a critical piece of the puzzle. Enclosures of electrical equipment are subject to standards testing, most often IEC...

How to form tiny details on small parts: cutting with a laser in a water jet, photo etching, and building mechanisms in micro layers are three methods for accurately manufacturing really small parts.
November 1, 2004... As medical devices shrink to handle lower-power requirements, demands for portability, and to fit within the human body, researchers are developing new production ideas and updating a few older ones to accurately handle the smaller dimensions....

IEC 60601-1-6 standard helps avoid designing-by-accident: it's not the easiest thing to read, but the IEC 60601-1-6 contains useful examples as well as guidelines for designing medical equipment.(International Electrotechnical Commission)
November 1, 2004... Hospitals and clinics are hotbeds of new equipment and diagnostic devices but the staff in these places rarely get the time to read operating manuals or attend training in how to use the new tools. So it's up to the manufacturers to ensure...

Not all foams are created equal: foams for body contact must be tested for toxicity, irritation, and allergic responses before ISO approval.(International Standards Organization )
November 1, 2004... Flexible foam materials provide safety and comfort in medical devices where body contact with the patient is necessary. The properties of specially-formulated polyolefin, urethane, and silicone foams give design engineers a wide range of useful...

Syringe heater makes solutions more effective.(Innovations)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Drugs and other solutions given with injection or by IV tubes are more effective and less dangerous when they are heated to near body temperature. Heated solutions also have lower viscosities, letting them mix easier with blood and other body...

Only one supplier won this award.(News From Contract Manufacturers)(AVX Corp. receives Annual Supplier Excellence Award)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... AVX Corp., Tantalum Div., Biddeford, Maine (avx.com) a supplier of tantalum components, has received the Annual Supplier Excellence Award from Medtronic, a medical technology company. AVX Tantalum was the only company to earn the annual award...

Online market handles $30 million RFQs each day.(News From Contract Manufacturers)(Request for Quote)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A landmark 30,000th Request for Quote (RFQ) was posted recently on MfgQuote, Atlanta, (mfgquote.com), an online marketplace connecting buyers with suppliers of custom manufacturing services. The company also reports record levels in RFQ value...

A hotline for membrane problems.(News From Contract Manufacturers)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
November 1, 2004... Millipore Inc., Billerica, Mass., (millipore.com/OEM) has a Membrane Hotline to connect medical-device designers and engineers to the company's team of membrane experts. Calling (978) 762-5229 lets any manufacturer receive design, testing, and...

Medical power supplies in three weeks or less.(News From Contract Manufacturers)(Elpac Electronics Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... By turning conventional wisdom for inventory control oil its ear and keeping enough parts to build hundreds of power supplies, engineers with Elpac Power Systems say they can build any of 28 new medical units in quantities of 500 or so in only...

Machine wraps balloons and crimps stents.(Machine Of The Month)(Interface Associates' balloon machinery)
November 1, 2004... The Balloon Wrapping and Stent Crimping machine from Interface Associates, Laguna Niguel, Calif., interfaceusa.com tightly and accurately wraps a fluted balloon around a catheter shaft. "It's also capable of crimping stents to wrapped...

Surgical marker uses RFID to protect patients.(Regulation & FDA)(radio frequency identification)(SurgiChip Inc. gets Food and Drug Administration's approval )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... An external surgical marker tag hoping to minimize the likelihood of wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-patient surgeries has been cleared for marketing by the FDA. The device is the first surgical marker to use radio frequency...

Adhesive foam tape for direct skin application.(Industry News)
November 1, 2004... Bioflex Rx1152P is a white polyethylene foam, single coated with a high-molecular weight, rubber-based medical adhesive for direct skin applications such as bandages, monitoring sensors, and personal-care items. The adhesive is made of a...

LED light cures adhesives in seconds.(Industry News)
November 1, 2004... The 7700 handheld LED light source, a high-powered, portable curing system, consistently cures many UV/visible light curing adhesives in seconds. The unit offers a typical output of 500 mW/[cm.sup.2] at a wavelength of 405 nm. The unit's small...

Machined springs.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... Machined springs can provide linear deflection rates. There are no internal stresses to overcome before deflection occurs, which can be the case with traditional springs. All machined-spring coils deflect under load. One advantage of machined...

Fluid-flow measurements.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... The DryCal ML-800 is a fluid-flow measurement system with [plus or minus] 0.15% standardized accuracy. Un like comparable standards, the ML-800 is at once dry (no mercury, oil, or soap solution), portable, fast, easy-to-use, and operates hands...

Slip-free appliques keep devices in place.(Design Solutions)
November 1, 2004... Egrips, a silicone-based product, keeps mobile phones, PDAs, and other handheld devices from slipping and breaking. These slip-free appliques work with a wide variety of handheld devices including portable medical equipment. With egrips...

Medical-device design.(An Off-Beat Way to Inspire)
November 1, 2004... Many designers look to innovative materials and technologies for inspiration when approaching the development of a new product. Designers of medical devices, however, are limited with what they can use by factors such as biocompatibility and...

Vinyl & foam grips.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... Hunt-Wilde is the world's leading handlegrip manufacturer. We are also one of the foremost experts on injection molding vinyl. Since 1946, we have been supplying a cross section of industry with innovative solutions and designs to meet their...

Batteries short form catalog with technical data on CD-ROM.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... Panasonic's broad line of battery sizes and chemistries is condensed for review in this new 16-page, 4-color catalog with technical data and company overview on enclosed CD-ROM. Batteries covered include NiCd, NiMH, Lithium, Li-ion, Lead Acid...

Needle bonding and syringe assembly with DYMAX MD[R] medical device adhesives.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... Line of UV/visible light curing adhesives are designed specifically for syringe cannula to hub bonding. Five standard grades are detailed in a selector guide and their selection, based on syringe design, is explained. Other criteria for...

Watlow offers interactive CD catalog.(Data files: product literature advertising section)
November 1, 2004... Watlow, a designer and manufacturer of heaters, controllers and temperature sensor, released an interactive CD catalog containing information on Watlow's services and its complete line of products designed for thermal system. Watlow ...

Counting instruments.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... ENM counters art' used in machines that perform repetitive operations, handle money, measure distance, and count inventory. All types of counters are available, from hand tallies to sophisticated electronic devices. Hour meters are an accurate...

Laser micromachining and custom laser systems.(Data files: product literature advertising section)
November 1, 2004... PhotoMachining, Inc. provides: * Quick turn laser job shop services * R&D through large volume contract manufacturing * All work performed in certified Class 10,000 cleanroom * Feature sizes to less than 10 microns *...

Plastic enclosures, housings, panels & shrouds.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... THIEME Corporation literature describes its full range of contract reaction injection molding (RIM) services including; CAD part design, tool development, part molding, painting, EMI shielding and light assembly. * Single Shot Parts (up to...

Quick turn capability for custom flexible circuits.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... Photoetching and laser enable processing rapid turnaround for prototypes and production runs of flexible circuits for medical applications. Photoetching produces a precise edge while allowing windowed leads and back side access. Laser...

Rugged duty keypads.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... The 3X4 keypad is a rugged duty, rubber keypad with momentary, switches. The unit comes in both lighted and unlighted models. It is dustproof, waterproof to NEMA 4. The keypads can be ordered with a large variety of standard or custom legends....

Primary source for stainless steel products.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... A 30-page design and manufacturing guidebook offers updated technical information to help you select the proper size and material composition. It describes stainless steel tubing in stand and hypodermic (6 to 30 gauge), metric (1 to 26 mm OD),...

Motion control & positioning solutions brochure.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... This new 32-page color brochure, Automation Solutions for Laser Processing, Medical Device Manufacturing, and Life Sciences presents Aerotech's multitude of products and automation solutions developed specifically for these industries. This...

Baldor's Standard-E[TM] motors.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... Standard-ETM motors from Baldor comply with Energy Policy Act (EPAct) requirements. The new motors have higher efficiencies, run cooler, are better balanced, have higher torques, have low starting currents, are wound with Inverter Spike...

Value plastics releases new catalog.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... Printed in full color, catalog edition 21 (v.021) includes product data, photos, list prices and inventory, availability for over 400 different configurations in over 2,800 different style and material choices. Over 100 new products have been...

Customized spring washers.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... A clover-shaped disc that can be coned or side-stressed in the flat condition. It replaces coil springs where space is at premium, provides two to three times the deflection than belleville washers, serves as a grip washer and becomes snap...

Synthetic and wire fabrics for medical applications.(Data files: product literature advertising section)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... Sefar supplies a broad range of precision woven synthetic and wire fabrics for medical applications. Roll goods can be delivered quickly or custom components can be cleanroom fabricated in ISO 9001 certified facilities. Capabilities include...

All I want for Christmas is ...(Career Corner)(Trilogy Publications's Those Amazing Engineers book for children)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Looking for a good Christmas present for the kiddos? Want something educational but not too boring? Trilogy Publications has the answer in a new 32-page, illustrated book, "Those Amazing Engineers," for children ages 8 to 12. The book presents...

Storytelling and math ability linked.(Career Corner)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Math and storytelling may seem like very different abilities, but a new study by University of Waterloo scientist Daniela O'Neill suggests that preschool children's early storytelling abilities are predictive of their mathematical ability two...

And the winners are ...(Recovery Room)(Contest for Children and Teens with Diabetes)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Roche Diagnostics and the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) announced the winners of the 2004 Accu-Chek Art Contest for Children and Teens with Diabetes. The contest is a precursor to World Diabetes Day and...