The phrase “Ning is a Taiping dog, not a messy person†accurately describes the situation of current medical equipment design engineers. The ever-changing market development market has brought them unprecedented opportunities and challenges. The most urgent thing is to create follow-up Medical device sensor components that miniaturize the trend of design. Miniaturization is the current mainstream trend in almost all medical devices, from simple blood pressure monitors to complex artificial heart-lung machines.
This article highlights the design strategy for developing cost-effective, compact sensing solutions—the sensing solution is the key to providing medical devices with real-world data on patient conditions or treatment. Next, we will illustrate how designers can use the latest sensing technology to design medical devices that are compact, low-cost, yet capable, profitable, and safe, through common scenarios in several hospitals. Each case contains some simple tips on how to choose components, as well as product examples that best fit the application.
Figure 1: Modern medical devices such as infusion pumps require compact sensors that meet stringent medical material safety standards.
Why is it so compact and easy to carry?
The wave of medical devices that are smaller and more portable is affecting almost all aspects of modern medical care, with applications such as patient delivery, oxygen inhalation and emergency services being particularly affected, as the smaller the device, The easier it is to use, the more timely it can save lives. For example, a lightweight, compact patient monitor and support device ensures that the medical team immediately provides high-quality medical care to patients, enabling treatment and care that was previously only available in the operating room and ICU wards at local clinics, on-site ambulances Facilities can be successfully implemented even on ambulances and medical helicopters.
Smaller respirators, infusion pumps (Figure 1), and vital signs monitors can also help hospitals improve the quality of care in wards and ICU wards. In addition, in the operating room, the compact monitor, infusion pump and suction device also allow the pre-operative scrubbing and disinfection team to have more room to access the patient and operate the monitor, life support and treatment equipment .
The space-saving design also enhances the portability of the product, allowing medical personnel to move devices between patients quickly and easily, and the highly portable device can be quickly deployed to the first-aid scene where every second counts. In addition, portability also allows patients to exercise more flexibly during hospitalization, giving them greater autonomy and comfort, which is good for accelerating patient recovery. Finally, high portability can help healthcare managers use hospital assets more efficiently and create a healthier healthcare environment.
The advantages of small medical devices have made reliable and easy-to-use health monitoring into the home care of ordinary people and will play a key role in the transfer of patient care from the hospital to the family – in private health insurance companies and the United States. The transfer process will be gradually accelerated by the government's latest implementation of the Affordable Care Act. As a result, visionary medical device manufacturers have begun to develop new products that provide high quality home medical care.
New sensor options make compact design a reality
But until recently, there has been a lot of room for the development of sensors on the road to miniaturization and higher portability. The speed of this mechanical/analog component is far behind that of laptops, tablets, game consoles and others. The development of digital computing, display and communication technologies in consumer products. Now, with small sensors and the latest technology, design engineers can reduce the size of the equipment and reduce costs.
With the deployment of new compact sensors and the follow-up of a wide range of small package and mounting options, the miniaturization process begins. In other areas, the new solution helps designers achieve greater space savings by integrating multiple sensor components into one package. This advanced integration technology allows sensors to be placed in small surgical equipment and other applications, turning the past into a reality.
Sensor platforms with mechanical interfaces, mounting, packaging and I/O options give medical device designers unprecedented freedom. For example, pressure sensors offer a variety of options for mating connections (port type), packaging (DIP, SIP, surface mount), and output (analog or digital) to meet the rigorous functional, cost, and space requirements of the application (Figure 2). .
Figure 2: Honeywell Sensing and Control's NBP Series Basic Board Mount Pressure Sensors can be mounted on space-constrained printed circuit boards or small devices.
Board-mounted sensors are one of the most popular space-saving components in medical devices and industrial designs due to their many advantages. For example, in sensors for measuring fluid pressure or flow, a board-mounted package can secure the sensing element to a printed circuit board (PCB) as close as possible to the patient and/or liquid medium (eg, blood, Chemical substance or water).
This is especially important in some applications. For example, hemodialysis machines require precise measurement of dialysate and venous pressure to ensure that patients are safe and comfortable during treatment. Accurate measurement of fluid pressure and blood pressure helps to eliminate excessive or too low pressure, avoid rupture of blood vessels or air bubbles in the dialysis tubing. For this type of application, board-mounted sensors support extreme working distances for high-accuracy, high-accuracy measurements and fast response to system changes (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Hemodialysis machines require extremely accurate measurements of patient blood pressure and dialysate (toxins in the bloodstream) pressure.
In addition to accurate measurements, board-mounted sensors enable designers to implement simpler, more reliable designs that are quickly assembled through automated equipment. Pressure and flow sensors typically support a variety of board-mount packages, most of which offer options for different integrated port orientations, leaving an unobstructed path for the tubing that connects the sensor, regardless of the medium. These options will play an important role.
Shenzhen Sunson Tech Co., Ltd , https://www.sunsonkiosk.com