Engineers seek to improve cable wiring and break-away connectors in the event of a parachute mishap while developing wearable technology to save lives on the ground.   Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Human Effectiveness Directorate engineers are continuing to develop a family of wearable and portable technology for the Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided kNowledge (BATMAN) program.Read More

MEMS I/O connectors will dramatically change medical technology in 2016 as more patients require treatment both on-site and remotely.   The face of healthcare, as we know it, is changing. Rising costs combined with a substantial increase in healthcare monitoring are forcing a paradigm shift like we have never seen before. While patient care isRead More

Building on the success of smartphones and other mobile consumer devices, medical device manufacturers continue to improve on portable and wearable monitoring devices. What does this mean for interconnect designs?   Designed to be worn on the body or attached to clothing, wearable electronic devices, also known as wearables, integrate biosensors that detect physiological markers. HealthcareRead More

Medical market sector sales are up 15.3% in 1Q15, driven by the Medtronic/Covidien merger.   Bishop tracks eight companies in the medical market sector. These companies’ combined sales have grown year over year for the past 12 consecutive quarters, ending with 1Q15. These companies grew 3.0% year over year in 2013 and 5.5% in 2014.Read More

Counterfeit cabling can endanger the lives of patients in medical applications and facilities, and engineers and installers should take care to authenticate the cable they’ve purchased. Here are tips on how to identify counterfeit cabling in healthcare facilities.   Medical facilities aren’t immune to fraud: Drug counterfeiting and insurance fraud are a few examples of questionable activitiesRead More

As patient records, diagnostic information, and even the operating theater increasingly rely on networked electronics, the amount of data that must be managed has grown dramatically. Here we’ve excerpted a detailed white paper by Berk-Tek Leviton Technologies on some of the available solutions for increasing speed and efficiency in a facility’s cabling infrastructure.   Hospitals and otherRead More

Traditionally employed in heavy industrial applications, robots are moving into other industries. In the medical field, they are used for surgery, therapy, diagnostics, and much more.   Robots for specialized medical applications such as surgery bring together robotics and biology, and we’re seeing an increase in the number of robots specifically designed and developed for thisRead More

Developed with a medical device manufacturer, Bioconnect’s medical cable reduces electrical interference and is now available to all customers. Working with a medical device company, Bioconnect, a division of RF Industries, has designed a cable that eliminates unwanted electrical noise. A medical device company developed a mapping catheter system that improved the diagnosis and treatment of atrialRead More

The Molex MediSpec Plastic Circular System is an economical, custom-off-the-shelf interconnect system with a 10,000-cycle durability rating. Molex Incorporated introduced the MediSpec Medical Plastic Circular (MPC) Interconnect System, an economical custom-off-the-shelf interconnect system that delivers high mating cycles and low mating forces, at a fraction of the cost of competing machined-contact systems. Combining premium performanceRead More

When SynCardia needed to ensure a totally reliable signal in a portable artificial heart, it turned to Smiths Connectors.   A recognized leader in the mechanical circulatory support industry, SynCardia Systems of Tucson, Ariz., manufactures the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart as a bridge to transplant for patients who are dying from end-stage biventricular failureRead More

With so many risks in and options for connecting tubing in medical applications, it is important to have a simple and repeatable strategy for selecting the best connector solution. Here are CPC’s four tips for choosing fluid connectors.   Choosing the right fluid connectors can improve patient safety and user convenience while maximizing sealing and flowRead More

Delivering the optimum cable for the medical industry is much more challenging than it was just a few short years ago: It is no longer just pieces of copper within a non-conductive sleeve adapted to the application. Floyd Henry of Bioconnect examines cable material design criteria for the medical industry.     Cutting-edge cables for aerospaceRead More