Medical Bigger isn’t better
Tomoko Fujiwara, product marketing manager, Honeywell Scanning and Mobility, talks about how the demand for smaller, more portable medical devices is driving innovations in sensor technologies
T
he world today has become increasingly mobile with advancements in powerful and portable technologies, such as smartphones and wearables. These trends
aren’t exclusive to the consumer market. Medical devices traditionally used in hospitals and clinics are also evolving to become more portable, creating possibilities to be used in home healthcare.
A market study by RNR Market Research estimates that the homecare medical equipment market could be worth nearly $26 billion by 2022. As a result of these market influences, medical device manufacturers are designing
solutions in smaller form factors, as smaller medical devices can be more practical and valuable today. By the same token, smaller component parts such as sensors are growing in demand for use in more portable medical devices. However, device functionality and reliability cannot be sacrificed for smaller form factors, either. And for most manufacturers, budgets are limited, meaning low-cost components are ideal. This is why new sensor innovations reaching the market need to feature smaller form factors while maintaining high functionality and affordability.
Sensing market trends Embedded devices such as pressure sensors are advancing in many ways to better meet the needs and challenges of designing smaller medical devices. For example, advanced low-cost basic pressure sensors have become a valuable commodity, specifically with engineers who need to design and create low-cost, high-volume assemblies in sectors such as industrial manufacturing and healthcare. OEMs in these industries are experiencing a greater demand for products in these applications and need components that meet their strict design requirements.
Even as devices become smaller for increased portability,
users still expect that these systems maintain functionality and accuracy. And to design small yet accurate medical devices, component parts such as sensors must also offer robust features at a low cost. Yet, higher degrees of accuracy usually mean higher price tags, which isn’t ideal for low-cost, high-volume applications. Staying within budget is a priority. And if lower-cost components are the only available option to a design engineer, how does one best evaluate low-cost sensors for use in these types of highly functional systems? Deriving value from these types of applications requires designers to view these components not purely as commodities, but as critical technology enablers that can offer a competitive advantage to the systems that design engineers create.
Accuracy is king Functionality and reliability are important qualities for all medical devices. Improving accuracy of a component device such as a sensor can result in higher functionality and accuracy for these systems. For a low-cost, high-volume application, innovation in small, affordable sensing technology has helped bolster measurement accuracy that can rival some premium solutions. In order to improve accuracy in low-cost applications, it is important to retain the benefits of easier-to-install components such as compensated or amplified compensated pressure sensors. Less-accurate sensing technology could negate some of the benefits achieved by using plug-and-play technology, such as the ability to help relax specifications in other parts of the system. This benefit may be of greater value particularly for engineers struggling to meet design requirements. The desire for more “plug-and-play” components in part explains the growing popularity of amplified compensated vs. uncompensated pressure sensors. Amplified compensated sensors can typically be used without the need for additional modifications, and can provide part-to- part interchangeability, calibration and temperature compensation. A non-amplified compensated sensor may require the use of amplification circuitry, assuming that an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with an mV input analog digital converter (ADC) is not being used. By contrast, uncompensated sensors provide raw sensor output, and usually require some form of compensation to be able to be used in many applications.
Evolving functionality Portable medical devices aren’t new, but these devices continue to be designed smaller and easier for patients who prefer to receive higher-quality healthcare in the comfort of their own homes. However, neither the design engineer nor the patient can afford to sacrifice functionality for the benefits of size and portability. Recent innovations have helped transform low-cost components into valuable, highly functional technologies that are often ideal for the medical device’s current technology renaissance. Advancements in smaller sized and highly accurate low-cost components will continue to help design engineers address some of the most strict design parameters in today’s medical device industry.
www.honeywell.com 28 October 2016 Components in Electronics
www.cieonline.co.uk
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