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VOLUME 31 - NUMBER 9


Product Preview: SMTAI


THE GLOBAL HI-TECH ELECTRONICS PUBLICATION September, 2016


Resuscitating Expired Medical Devices at NEO Tech


By Steve Heinzen, Vice President of Strategy and Marketing, NEO Tech


On display by YXLON, the Y.MU2000-7 X-ray inspection system is a standout product in the Rosemont expo. The Product Preview starts on...


Page 72 EPE's


Well-Established Infrastructure


New Hampshire-based EPE supports customers in defense and aerospace, RF communica- tions, medical, robotics, indus- trial, and the Internet of Things (IoT); North Carolina- based GMS has expanded into building and testing every- thing from large LED arrays to small boards with more than 500 parts...


Page 20


This Month's Focus: PCB and Test


From CyberOptics, a wireless wafer-like device with five RH sensors that measures the RH profile across its en- tire surface; factory upgrades of existing machines and in- frastructure with smart tech- nology (KIC); automated se- lective coating systems from Nordson ASYMTEK for high- volume apps; ultra-miniatur- ization and invisible hearing aids by Cicor, starting on…


Page 56


NEO Tech workers processing medical equipment for potential repair and refurbishing at the company’s facility in Tijuana, Mexico.


Ultra-Flat Hybrid Circuits Enable 2D Components


Houston, TX — The old rules do not necessarily apply when building electronic components out of two-di- mensional materials, according to scientists at Rice University. Boris Yakobson, theoretical


physicist and professor of chemistry at Rice, and a team of researchers


analyzed hybrids that put 2D mate- rials including graphene and boron nitride side-by-side to see what hap- pens at the border. They found that the electronic characteristics of such “co-planar” hybrids differ from bulki- er components. Currently, both aca- demic and industry labs are studying how materials such as graphene may enable the ultimate thin devices by building all the necessary circuits in- to a single atom-thick layer. “Our work is significant be-


cause semiconductor junctions are a big field. There are books with iconic models of electronic behavior that are extremely well-developed and have become the established pillars of the industry,” says Yakobson. “Now that people are actively work-


Continued on page 6


Chatsworth, CA — Medical devices must be in top operating condition at all times. A failed electronic device can result in a life-and-death health- care situation. In this respect, med- ical electronics are no different from those used by the military; they must be ultra-reliable at all times. But these devices often cannot be re-


placed by upgrades because they are totally integrated into a hospital’s systems, such as medication man- agement and operating theater sys- tems, and this increases the difficul- ty of upgrading to a newer version of the device. The solution is to extend the useful life of these devices by us- ing repair and refurbishing services.


The preferred solution is a serv-


ice depot that specializes in device repair and refurbishing; preferably one co-located with the original de- vice manufacturer. Companies such as EMS provider NEO Tech, head- quartered in Chatsworth, California, offer services that extend the lifetime of medical equipment. While new products are the


company’s primary focus, coming in at a close second is repair and refur- bishing. The company recently ex- panded its Tijuana, Mexico, Center of Excellence (COE) manufacturing plant to become a state-of-the-art fa- cility for repair and refurb.


Continued on page 30


Rolling Wireless Net Improves First Responder Comms


Gaithersburg, MD — First respon- ders often have trouble communicat- ing with each other in emergencies. They may use different types of ra- dios, or may be working in rural ar- eas lacking wireless coverage, or deep inside large buildings with con- struction elements that block connec- tions.


To demonstrate improvements


to emergency communications and foster research on systems that can be quickly placed in strategic loca- tions, the National Institute of Stan- dards and Technology (NIST) has worked with industry partners to in- tegrate commercial technologies into a mobile wireless communications system. About the size of a large file cabinet, the platform offers more ca- pabilities and faster setup than typi- cal “cell on wheels” systems. As some users call it fondly on social media, it’s a Nerdcart. NIST’s Rapidly Deployable Pub-


lic Safety Research Platform — its of- ficial name — enables over 200 local users of broadband smart phones, Wi-Fi, data terminals and older walkie-talkie radios to communicate with each other using voice, text, in- stant messages, video and data. Its range is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) in a rural environment. Cru-


Continued on page 8


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