Magnetic Connectors: A Game-Changer in Medical Equipment Design

Magnetic and breakaway connectors are highly valued for their quick-connect and quick-release usability. In medical devices, they enhance safety, efficiency, and reliability in fast-paced environments.

In medical equipment, the use of specialty connector types including push-pulls, keyed and coded interfaces, and magnetic connectors can make a difference in quality of care. There’s a direct connection between connector design and accuracy, reliability, and performance in medical equipment, as operator error can be the point of failure in making secure connections between devices and power sources, or between related pieces of equipment. Having rushed, inexperienced, or improperly trained personnel can lead to a connection that isn’t completely or properly mated. Specifying connectors that make it easy to connect or disconnect equipment is a critical design decision.

Magnetic connectors offer several advantages to medical equipment designers. Magnetic connectors have fewer exposed parts and there is less risk of pin damage due to operator error, thus increasing longevity and mating cycles. This simplicity of design is also ideal for cleaning and sterilization. Fewer exposed conductive parts mean fewer crevices or cavities in which debris and bacteria can collect.

Mill-Max Maxnetic Spring-Loaded Connectors are ideal for use in medical environments with repeated mating and un-mating of cables into devices and with portable device docking/charging stations. By enabling quick connections, blind mating, and the ability to break away for emergency release without damage to the components, these connectors use strong, long-lasting neodymium (NdFeB) magnets on both connectors to provide 1.4 pounds (636 g) average separation force (1 pound (454 g) minimum) and enables the connectors to be pulled into alignment and connect with each other at up to .500” (12.7 mm) apart.

The ease of mating is perhaps the most important quality of magnetic connectors. The magnets exert attraction forces that quickly pull the two mating faces together and snap into the correct position without needing attention to pin or housing alignment by the operator. A complete, successful, and accurate connection is assured through the force of magnetics, even when done quickly or one-handed.

Unmating is just as easy. Magnetics of the proper strength are secure when mated, but quickly break connection when force is exerted. In a busy clinical environment with many people moving about and equipment on wheeled transport, it’s easy for cables to be stretched to their limit. Breakaway connectors can prevent certain types of equipment from being pulled to the ground or protect connectors from pin or housing damage caused by cords being pulled at an angle. The connector simply breaks connection instead of pulling on the equipment.

Many consumers are familiar with magnetic connectors from their use in Apple laptop computers. The MagSafe connector utilizes magnetics to connect the device to the power source. The MagSafe launched in 2006 and was retired in 2016, when Apple began moving to the USB-C interface. However, despite the speed and compatibility benefits of the USB-C connector, popular demand led Apple to bring back the MagSafe connector, which has saved many laptops from being pulled off a workspace when the cord was pulled to its limits. In some situations, functionality is more important than other performance measures.

Three types of magnetic connectors

There are three main categories of magnetic connectors. Power magnetic connectors, such as the MagSafe, are typically used to connect a device to a power source. Signal magnetic connectors transfer signal between devices. Hybrid magnetic connectors deliver both power and signal. In medical device design, the hybrid connector type is typically specified. It’s also widely utilized in robotics and industrial applications, as magnetic allow for quick swapping of parts or tools on robotic arms, reducing downtime.

Rosenberger offers a variety of magnetic connectors that are highly suited to medical environments. Use cases and applications include nurse calling systems, patient monitoring, patient infotainment, and surgical appliances. The small and lightweight MultiMag connector offers a high number of mating cycles, vibration-proof and combined current, data, LAN & RF connections, but also the advantages of a self-mating magnetic function, prevention of misconnections, easy cleaning and guaranteeing a correct connection in the most inaccessible locations, and the break-away function, which prevents damage to the application by unintended disconnection.

Magnetic connectors have seen significant growth in medical equipment due to their ease of use, reliability, and safety advantages. Looking to the future, we can expect several developments in this product category as home healthcare continues to grow and more medical devices join the Internet of Things. New designs may include magnetic connectors with integrated fiber optics or advanced copper technologies for ultra-high-speed data transfer, the transfer of wireless power and data transfer through magnetic fields, continued miniaturization, and “smart” magnetic connectors with integrated chips that enable devices to identify each other, automatically adjust power or data settings, or encrypt data transmissions.

To learn more about the companies mentioned in this article, visit the Preferred Supplier pages for Mill-Max Mfg. Corp. and Rosenberger.

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