mEdical EQUiPmEnT


Enabling smallEr and safEr mEdical dEvicEs


Healthcare organisations are increasingly moving patients to home care settings to reduce the pressure on traditional healthcare facilities, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this has been a double-edged sword for medical device manufacturers. On one hand, it has meant a boom in the market for certain home medical devices, but it has also led to greater scrutiny of devices and increasingly stringent safety standards. Here, Andy Selvy, chief system designer at industrial heater manufacturer Watlow, explains how and why medical device manufacturing needs a new approach.


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EC 60601-1-11 standard for medical electrical equipment requires manufacturers of home medical devices to identify product safety risks associated with using their equipment in an


uncontrolled environment by untrained users. Meeting safety standards is sometimes


possible with traditional technology, but that technology adds to both the bulk and the cost of medical devices. Device manufacturers understandably want to make devices that are smaller, cheaper and easier to use - goals that are often at odds with safety compliance measures. This is where innovation in thermal solutions, including heaters, sensors, temperature controllers, power controllers and their supporting software can make a difference.


ThErmal sysTEm safETy Many medical devices require heaters to warm gas or liquids, and these require a fair amount of power that increases the possibility of leakage current and hence the risk of electrocution. This is a great example of where stricter standards for home care medical devices exist and how evolving heating technology can better meet those standards.


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Winter 2022 UKManufacturing


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