Mouser Adds Tektronix to Portfolio
  Mouser Electronics (Mansfield, TX) has signed a distribution agreement with Tektronix (Beaverton, OR), a provider of test, measurement, and monitoring instrumentation. Mouser says that the deal allows it to add another trusted brand name to its portfolio of electronic components. The distributor updates its interactive online catalog daily and publishes a print catalog every 90 days.
Zarlink Supplies St. Jude Medical
  Zarlink Semiconductor (Ottawa, ON, Canada) has shipped more than 30,000 modules incorporating the ZL70101 radio system-on-a-chip to St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, MN). Zarlink says that the product enables wireless performance in medical devices that support advanced monitoring, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications. The ZL70101 is the first chip designed to exclusively operate in the...
Designing an Optimal Signal Path for Portable Medical Devices
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2008 COMPONENTS       (click to enlarge) An EMI-hardened op amp (top) and a low-noise precision op amp (bottom) from National Semiconductor. Companies developing medical diagnostic equipment are faced with the challenge of providing customers with the best possible functionality at the most attractive price. Reducing...
Using Ultrasmall System-in-Package Components in Medical Electronics
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2008 MINIATURIZATION       High-density manufacture is essential to keep ahead of an increasingly competitive market. Product size is often a key sales driver and, while greatly influenced by processors and large complex components, packing densities are just as strongly determined by the size and interspacing of passive components. This is...
Integrating Built-In Connectors into Medical Electronics
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2008 The medical industry has seen a rapid increase in the use of digital electronics in items such as catheters, defibrillators, and monitors. New medical chip sets are capable of handling multiple input data channels from analytical instruments. These chips also provide a wide range of display information, machine orders, and pump signals. Medical equipment...
Elobau Introduces New Distributor Program
  Elobau Sensor Technology Inc. (Lake Bluff, IL) has introduced a new distributor program aimed at increasing the company's North American market. Elobau is a supplier to the European market of noncontracting sensor technology. The firm is currently establishing a network of preferred distributors and manufacturers' representatives for the company's machine safety range, including magnetic...
Molex Completes Acquisition
  Molex Inc. (Lisle, IL), a global electronic components company, has completed the acqusition of Aflextech Inc. (Taipei). The former Molex supplier designs and manufactures a variety of flexible circuits and assemblies, specializing in 1- to 10-layer flex circuits used in personal medical electronics. Molex says that the acquisition of the 300-employee company will allow it to expand its...
Outsourcing without Moving Offshore
  Remaining competitive in a world where companies are more frequently outsourcing beyond the United States can be a challenge. Endicott Interconnect Technologies Inc. (Endicott, NY) is collaborating with two universities to develop electronics products, an industry segment that continues to move offshore. With funding from the United States Display Consortium, Endicott Interconnect's Center...
Osram Expands, Moves East
      After seven years of construction, Osram Opto Semiconductors has expanded its footprint in Regensburg, Germany. The facility’s expanded size—about 600,000 sq ft—is expected to help increase capacity and work space for the company’s employees, according to the company. Osram has also established a regional headquarters office in Hong Kong, which will...
Noritake Joins Forces with Mouser for Modules
      Noritake Company, Inc. (Nagoya, Japan) has selected Mouser Electronics Inc. (Mansfield, TX) to distribute its vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) modules. According to Mouser, introducing the VFD modules to its engineering customers can help Noritake market its products to a previously untapped segment, and it may also bring additional customers to Noritake. Mouser says that the...
ON Semiconductor Acquires AMIS Holdings
      ON Semiconductor Corp. (Phoenix, AZ) has announced a completed acquisition of AMIS Holdings Inc. (Pocatello, ID) in a stock-for-stock merger. ON Semiconductor expects the move to strengthen the company’s position in the power and analog product marketplace. The acquisition brings together ON Semiconductor’s standard products and manufacturing infrastructure with...
Austriamicrosystems Completes Investment in New Scale
  Austriamicrosystems AG (Unterpremstätten, Austria), a designer and manufacturer of high-performance analog integrated circuits (ICs) for medical applications, and New Scale Technologies Inc. (Victor, NY), a developer and manufacturer of miniature motion systems, completed a Series B preferred equity transaction. Austriamicrosystems has made a $6 million investment in exchange for a 25...
Micro Power Partners with SonoSite
  Micro Power (Beaverton, OR), a provider portable power systems for medical equipment, has partnered with SonoSite Inc. (Bothell, MA) to design and manufacture a custom Li-ion battery pack for SonoSite's point-of-care ultrasound systems. Micro Power's battery pack powers SonoSite's new M-Turbo and S Series ultrasound products, but is also compatible with existing SonoSite systems. The...
Computer-on-Modules: Standardized Processing for Medical Electronics
  SYSTEMS DESIGN       Computer-on-modules, as shown here, provide standardized form and function. With ever-increasing speed requirements for modern processors and system buses, designing a cpu-based board from the ground up has become a daunting challenge for OEMs. Often, OEMs' resources would be better served by focusing on their core competencies and product...
Coping with the Risk of Board Flexure Damage to Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors
(click to enlarge)Multilayer ceramic capacitors are susceptible to board flexure failures. Failures of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) caused by printed circuit board (PCB) flexure have received considerable attention recently, not only because of product reliability concerns, but also because there is no screening method available for detecting cracked capacitors after they...
Acoustic Imaging: Diagnosing Singulation-Cracked MLCCs
  CAPACITORS       An acoustic image of surface-mounted MLCCs. Damage to multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) in medical electronic systems may result in system failure or in distortions in equipment performance or data readouts. This possibility makes MLCC damage a serious risk to patients because the inaccuracies may affect the efficacy of a blood test, the...
Electronics Products
    CAN Interface Board A PCI Express CAN Interface is offered with one or two CAN channels. Using two CAN channels allows access to two independent CAN networks, which may run at different baud rates. With two networks, one network can handle high-priority tasks while the other manages noncritical operations. The interface complies with ISO 11898 and CAN 2.0B. Software drivers are...
Rules of Thumb for Thermocouples in Medical Devices
  THERMOCOUPLES       Sidebar: Rules of Good Thermocouple Practice Whether inserted into a patient's body to monitor tissue temperature or used as a measurement and control device on external patient-support apparatus, thermocouples usually can be depended upon to give trouble-free service and long life as components of medical devices. Occasionally, however,...
Rules of Good Thermocouple Practice
  THERMOCOUPLES   Rules of Thumb for Thermocouples in Medical Devices Whatever the medical device application for which a thermocouple is used, optimum accuracy and economy are likely to be hallmarks of its performance only if the following recommendations and advisories are heeded:   Select the type that best matches operational requirements. Provide adequate...
Using Lubricants to Avoid Failures in Medical Electronic Connectors
  RELIABILITY       Figure 1. Under magnification, the metal-to-metal interface in an electronic connector can be seen to be rough (1). Micromotion (2) abrades both surfaces, allowing corrosion to create debris particles that can separate the interfaces and prevent conductivity (3). (click to enlarge) Electronic connectors typically fail when...
Advantages of Lithium-Ion Battery Power for Portable Medical Equipment
  Originally Published MEM Spring 2006 BATTERY TECHNOLOGY   A higher-energy-density technology can deliver more power than alternatives despite a smaller footprint. Robin Tichy Medical equipment manufacturers have joined the trend toward greater product mobility demonstrated by other industries, such as consumer electronics. In doing this, they are supporting the healthcare industry...
Reliability Qualification Testing of Chip-Scale IC Packages
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2005 INTEGRATED CIRCUITS   Miniature PCB-mounted components that passed tests for high-reliability portable applications provide an example of component qualification for medical electronics OEMs. Vern Solberg New medical electronic products destined for wearable or portable applications have to be small and lightweight. The challenge for the product...
EMI Considerations in Selecting AC/DC Switching Power Supplies
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2005 POWER SUPPLIES   Understanding the electromagnetic interference issues for power supplies helps designers to select the right power supply to integrate into their medical electronics. Ryan Gordon Benhard Ferite core selection is integral to achieving low EMI. Of the three cores shown here (left to right: EER, RM, and E types), RM may be the...
Designing and Optimizing Battery Systems for Portable Medical Devices
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2005 BATTERY TECHNOLOGY   Product safety and performance reliability depend on the mobile-equipment designer making informed component decisions and then testing the design under real-world conditions. Robin Tichy The demand for portable medical devices is on the rise. Advances in battery-based power systems have allowed traditionally tethered devices to...
Innovative 3-D Solutions for Multiple-Die IC Packaging
  Originally Published MEM Spring 2005 PACKAGING   A variety of packaging options and processes enable medical device manufacturers to make the right choice to achieve the desired functionality and performance. Vern Solberg Products courtesy of TESSERA INC. Photo by RONI RAMOS A primary challenge that electronics manufacturers—including those in the medical device...