Continuous Integration of Software Medical Device Projects – It Is a Must!
May, 2012
An automated continuous integration system can provide a thorough design history through triggered builds, status reports and alerts. It can promote a team process that smoothes the complex process of managing a complex software design project. These days a continuous integration (CI) tool is much more than “nice to have” during software development. And when...
Increasing Medical Device Security with Mainstream IT Platforms and Technologies
May, 2012
A layered security approach improves protection and eases the burden on Healthcare IT. Medical devices, such as infusion pumps, patient monitors and MRI scanners, can be just as susceptible to malware as standard computers. Keeping them secure in any networked environment is certainly challenging, and the stakes are particularly high for these particular applications since...
Helping the Blind to See
May, 2012
A set of eyewear combining small cameras and configurable image processing in a small, real-time package, is able to take advantage of remaining functional vision capabilities to help improve the lives of the legally blind Not all people who are legally blind have completely lost their sight. In fact many retain enough vestibular functional vision...
EMF’s Guide for Medical Device Company Executives
May, 2012
How to develop better products, save money, meet FDA/CDRH requirements more efficiently, and avoid recalls, lawsuits and nasty criminal complaints that can put you in jail Introduction: As a matter of full disclosure—and at the risk of appearing anachronistic—I am a veteran of the old FDA medical device wars and have the scars...
Overview of the Medical Semiconductor Market and Applications
April, 2012
The huge advances in medical devices, especially the new mobile and connected devices, are being driven by the latest developments in semiconductors. These include large scale integration and reduced power consumption, but also semiconductor devices specifically targeted at medical applications. In this article, we examine solutions from various suppliers. The medical electronics market is heating up....
The Ever Changing World of ECG Devices
April, 2012
From Functional to… Portable… Handheld… Wearable. I have witnessed Mobile Health in action. Many ECG devices are portable, but now I have started to see wearable ECG. Last year I saw one by Imec. This year at CES I saw another wearable ECG using clothing as a sensor. It is made by Cardiosport based in...
Your Tricorder Is Not My Holodeck
April, 2012
In a news item appearing elsewhere in this issue there is an announcement of a very interesting and intriguing competition—the design and construction of a real tricorder. A tricorder, for those below a certain age, is a device from the 1960’s science fiction TV show, “Star Trek.” The character Dr. Leonard, “Bones” McCoy would pass...
The Alarming State of Medical Device Alarm Systems
April, 2012
Among the cacophony of sounds, flashing lights, and blinking messages on display panels in today’s healthcare facilities, one thing is clear: medical alarm systems are out of control. Clinicians are overwhelmed by an overabundance of data and too little information that is meaningful. This leads to alarm fatigue (also known as alarm overload, alarm burden,...
Counterfeit Electronic Components: Understanding the Risk
April, 2012
You may have heard talk in the news lately regarding counterfeit electronic components making it into the US military supply chain. The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) recently reported in the Counterfeit Electronic Parts in the Defense Department Supply Chain hearing held on November 17, 2011, 1,800 cases of suspected counterfeit components that went...
Active Management Technology Takes the Pain out of Connected Healthcare
March, 2012
The security, interoperability and manageability of large numbers of distributed medical devices are all obstacles to healthcare becoming more network-centric. Intel Active Management Technology offers an avenue to address those interoperability issues with a framework for management and security. Of the many models for healthcare evolution, connected healthcare (sometimes termed the digital hospital), is emerging as an effective solution to...
Interview with Doug Busch of Intel-GE Care Innovations
March, 2012
The medical electronic market continues to heat up as more and more people demand medical electronic solutions. Intel and GE, the two electronic giants formed a joint-venture called Intel-GE Care Innovations. MEDS wanted to find out how it came about and what they wanted to accomplish. Our publisher John Koon interviewed Doug Busch, Senior Vice...
CES 2012: Digital Health Reality Check
February, 2012
I attended the CES 2012 in search of new and interesting ideas for MEDS (Medical Electronic Device Solutions magazine www.medsmag.com). According to CES, this year the record attendance reached 153,000.I attended two panel discussions. Compared to the conferences I attended last year, there were a lot of repeated themes such as the importance of wireless...
