FEA


FEAT RE MEDICMEDICAL ELECTRON C ATURE


ONICI S Don’t plan to fail


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battery into the device, so rather than simply swapping the lithium-iion (Li-ion) battery when it reaches its end of life, users are strong-armed into buying a new product. However, when it comes to medical devices obsolescence ctor ofAccutronics


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example, a smartphone. Reliance on a supply chain that was primarily developed for an industry that changesmore rapidly than the relatively slow-pacedmedical sector will cause problems.


he consumermarket seems to have accepted that planned obsolescence, or planned failure, is simply a fact ofmodern life. In the field ofmedical technology, however, the idea of having to replace a costly device because the battery, for


T


example, is suddenly obsolete after less than two years would cause uproar.


Of course, obsolescence is inevitable to some degree, especially as technology is constantly changing and adapting to consumer expectations andmedical


that component obsolescenc led, no longer operating in si


deeper impact, as the entire 26 SEP EMBER 201 26 SEPTEMBER 2016 | ELEC RO


innovations. Battery technology in particular is constantly in the headlines asmobile phonemanufacturers attempt to keep pac e with the needs of consumer devices leaving medical device OEMs with limited options. The development of healthcare devices is becoming increasingly holistic and system- los. Thismeans


systemhas to be e has amuch


ELECTRONICS CS


taken into considerationwhen replacing a part to ensure stringent requirements and regulations continue to bemet. The


demand for these smarter devices, that still need to provide a (ROI) with a long


product development return on investment


lifecycle (PDLC), is forcingmedical device original equipment


manufacturers (OEMs) to take a long hard look at component obsolescencemanagement.


This raises a quandary,where do OEMs invest their time and expertise? Should they take engineers away from research and development of revolutionar y devices to focus on obsolescence solutions? It’s not an easy choice tomake.


Medical technology (medtech) OEMs are having to focus onmaintaining devices rather than replacing them, and so being aware of when andwhere issuesmay arise during a device's lifespan is vital unlike, for


Figure 1: devices


Figure 1: The role of obsolescence in medical


he role of


obsolescence in medical devices


“Rel


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developed for an industry that cat hangesmore rapidly than the relatively slow- pacedmedical sectorwill cause problem


developed fo th for an industry


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Battery cellmanufacturers can often fal l into this category. International, commercial cellmanufacturers often design battery cells with their own consumer device divisions in mind.When these devices evolve and place different demands on batteries, the cells will be discontinued and replacedwith differentmodels.Medical devices need to be able to rely on a continuous supply of the same battery type for an average lifespan of around ten years, so they need to be able to count on their supplier. That’s why as a battery integrato r, Accutronics prefers to be involved in the early stages of a device's design. This then allows the battery to be tailored tomeet the device's specific requirements and they can ensure the battery includes cells, which are available frommultiple vendors, have longevity andmeet all regulatory safety requirements. Good cell selectionmeans the battery will be available for the life of the device whilst a poor choice canmean successive redesigns throughou t the product lifecycle.


,


Planned obsolescence management doesn’t have tomean you plan


component providers to fail.Working with


that are committed


future obsolescence to helpingmanage


will allowmedical


device OEMs to focus on dev eloping ne w


technology rather than investing valuable resources on extensive obsolescence programmes. Accutronics www.accutronics.co.uk


www.accutronics.co.uk T: 01782 566622


/ ELECTRONICS ELECTRONICS


ctronics industryhasembraceracedobsolescenceasawayof fail, centra


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ofits. Smart rtphones, ptops,


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