Embedded systems power down
Rick Nelson, Editor-in-Chief Applications ranging from health care to environmental, structural, and spectrum monitoring are driving the need for low-power sensors that will permeate our world, delivering data that enhances our quality of life. EDN estimates that manufacturers will develop and deploy 1000 sensors per person over the next 10 years, amounting to more than 1 trillion sensors. Those...
Eastman, DD Studio, PolyOne and Phillips Plastics Collaborate
Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, TN) and DD Studio (Carlsbad, CA) have released a mobile, wireless, continuous vital signs monitoring system called ViSi Mobile by Sotera Wireless Inc. The device is a wireless device that straps to a patient’s arm to monitor vital signs and a monitoring device to keep clinicians connected to patients’ information. The ViSi Mobile leverages design...
Battling EMI in Wireless Technology
AAMI has just released an updated technical information report to offer guidance on preventing electromagnetic interference, hoping to provide a template for a wireless and electromagnetic compatibility policy. The report, ANSI/AAMI TIR18: 2010, Guidance on Electromagnetic Compatibility of Medical Devices in Healthcare Facilities, was developed with clinical and biomedical engineers in mind. AAMI...
HDI Circuits May Trump Traditional Flex Circuits
A designer and manufacturer of critical components has become fully HDI (high-density interconnect) capable for flexible circuits. It can provide HDI flexible circuits with blind and buried microvia capability down to 75 µm and trace and space capabilities down to 50 µm. The company says that HDI flex circuits lower cost by reducing layer count and circuit size, and that increased...
Harnessing Ultra-Wideband for Medical Applications
Ultra-wideband (UWB), a wireless transmission technology for high bandwidth (480–1320 Mb/sec) and short range (10–50 m), is gradually seeing more use in medical applications. It was initially developed as technology for the military—only after the U.S. military lifted the secrecy in 1994 did development for commercial purposes begin. Early UWB chip sets were geared toward...
Philips Respironics Puts Wireless in Action
The Philips Respironics System One sleep therapy device won the Best Embedded End-to-End Service Award, part of the GSMA’s Embedded Mobile Competition (GSMA is an association that represents mobile operators worldwide). Philips’s system brings together both mobility and two-way wireless communications. The device currently operates on the nPhase AT&T network in the United States...
Flexible Circuit Loop Antenna
A company offers a flexible circuit loop antenna, which the company says can deliver more than 40% efficiency in healthcare monitoring devices. The FLA.01 antenna is a penta-band cellular antenna that is embedded inside medical devices. The technology can be applied to any frequency, including license-free bands such as 433 MHz, 868 MHz, 915 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and higher. The FLA antenna enables...
Designing Robust Wireless Sensor Applications
    Originally Published MEM Fall 2009 WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY         An engineer works on a medical project being developed on a platform running both Windows and Linux on a separation kernel and hypervisor. Wireless sensors are quickly making inroads into prehospital, in-hospital, ambulatory, home monitoring, and long-term care settings. These sensors...
Continua Health Alliance Selects Bluetooth
    Industry coalition group Continua Health Alliance has selected Bluetooth low-energy wireless technology to include in its design guidelines. Once the selection is finalized, Continua plans to include the Bluetooth specification in version two of its Continua Health Alliance Design Guidelines. Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology that offers connectivity between mobile...
Rigel Outfits Siemens
  Rigel Medical (Peterlee, County Durham, UK) has provided equipment manufacturer Siemens Healthcare (Malvern, PA) with 100 electrical safety analyzers. The handheld devices will be used by Siemens’s nationwide team of mobile service engineers to conduct electrical safety checks on MR, CT, nuclear, PET, ultrasound, and radiotherapy equipment. Siemens says that the devices will greatly...
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...
FROM THE EDITOR
  Originally Published MEM Spring 2007   Wireless medical devices are certainly streamlining work flow. At the very least, they eliminate cumbersome cords in often tight spaces in hospitals and doctors' offices. But, are they safe? As more of them are put into an environment, can they coexist? FDA certainly has some concerns, and the agency has issued a draft guidance for industry....
FROM THE EDITOR
      Wireless medical devices may be the wave of the future. The market for these devices is expected to grow 57.8% each year for the next five years. FDANews has forecast this explosion in a report titled, "Wireless Medical Technology: A Strategic Analysis of Global Markets." The report predicts a $7 billion growth by 2011. "We have seen a very strong...
The Ultra-Low-Power Wireless Medical Device Revolution
  Originally Published MEM Spring 2005 IMPLANTABLES   Remote management of implantables requires an ultra-low-power, high-performance transceiver with an architecture specially designed for these medical devices. Peter Bradley Implantable medical devices (IMDs) have a history of outstanding success in the treatment of many diseases, including heart diseases, neurological disorders, and...
Introducing Wireless Remote Control and Monitoring into Medical Applications
  Originally Published MEM Spring 2005 WIRELESS   Connectivity options for new and legacy equipment include a choice of wireless technologies with HIPAA compatibility. Harold Yin, Shahin Hatamian, and John Halloran   Promoting the general use of electronic health records (EHRs) has been an information technology (IT) focus and healthcare industry objective for close to 20 years....
From the Editor
  Originally Published MEM Spring 2005   The advent of electronic health records (EHRs) is a major topic of discussion among insurance and physician groups. Much of the focus is on using EHRs to streamline patient records and eliminate redundant data. Some groups just want to get the correct diagnosis code to the insurance carrier or HMO more quickly. At the Health Information...
From the Editor
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2004   TELEMEDICINE has been around for more than 30 years. In concert with the Internet, wireless technology advancements would seem to be the key to a telemedicine revolution. Not so. A recent government report highlights the obstacles still standing in the way of real progress. "A framework for determining reimbursement coverage of telehealth...
Calculating Data Rate and Data Range for Wireless Medical Applications
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2004 WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY   Designers of wireless devices can be sure to select the right components if they first do a little math. Carl Falcon Wireless communications is defined as the technology of transmitting digital data from a transmitter to a receiver without the use or necessity of a physical connection. Of primary importance to the medical device...
PCB-Level Shielding Technology for Today's Medical Wireless World
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2004 SHIELDING   A thermoformed, metallized plastic shielding offers an alternative to gasketing and metallic shielding enclosures. Ross Livington Portable handheld wireless devices used in today's medical applications feature smaller form factors that weigh less. These devices include wireless PDAs, laptop data-connect cards, and handheld data-...
Increase Warehouse Throughput with Automated RF Data Entry
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2003 RF DATA ENTRY   A data-capture solution using radio-frequency data entry can increase throughput of a medical electronics distribution center. Connie Green The RF handheld captures information such as quantity, bin numbers, and serial numbers. A radio-frequency (RF) data-capture solution can dramatically boost throughput in medical...
From the Editor
  Originally Published MEM Fall 2003   Wireless is working its way into the hearts—and maybe the heart monitors—of medical electronics manufacturers. In a report published earlier this year, In-Stat/MDR identifies healthcare as one of the two leading vertical markets that will grow aggressively in the next several years. Medical applications offer the greatest opportunities...
Exploring a Wireless Future for Medical Electronics
Originally Published MEM Fall 2002 Wireless Technologies Exploring a Wireless Future for Medical Electronics A number of wireless options offer new possibilities for the future of medical electronics. Bluetooth technology takes the lead. William E. Saltzstein All new technologies follow a path from inception that includes hype and eventually arrives at wide-scale availability and...
A New Role for Medical Electronics in Health Resource Management
Originally Published MEM Fall 2002 Wireless Devices A New Role for Medical Electronics in Health Resource Management Health resource management can solve some key issues in the healthcare industry, but its success requires the development of wireless-based medical devices. Ashok Kapoor In the past 10 years, the intelligent use of data has been a driving force behind advances in...
From the Editor
  Originally Published MEM Spring 2002   Fewer caregivers attending more patients is driving the need for increased device connectivity in hospitals. Both wired and wireless technologies are available to address the need, but two primary technologies—Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (802.11b)—are leading the way for wireless devices to connect medical devices and patient information...