Editor’s Letter

Your Tricorder Is Not My Holodeck

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…

Dealing with Data—Put it in Pictures… on My Phone

I recently accompanied my wife to a doctor appointment after which I was chatting with the doctor about some of the advances we were seeing in medical electronics. One cannot always expect a working physician to be up on the latest developments even in equipment that is currently on the market, let alone the sort…

Editorial: Medical Instruments Meet the Embedded Systems Industry

Electronics and embedded computer intelligence are certainly not new to the medical device community. One need only think of MRI machines, PET scanners, monitors and the whole host of electronic equipment already in place. Still, there seems to be something new starting to take place and that is associated with the pace of development. Coming…
Editorial: Software and Connectivity: Two Holy Grails

Editorial: Software and Connectivity: Two Holy Grails

Advances in processor technology, in graphics processing and display, highly reliable and standardized networking electronics have given us platforms with the intelligence, low power consumption, small size and attractive pricing that will allow the development of a vast array of medical devices. The hardware component is in place in terms of sensors, processors, power supplies…

Editorial: Welcome to MEDS

Welcome to Medical Electronic Device Solutions, a new and dynamic technical publication serving the medical device industry. We here at MEDS bring a unique perspective in that our familiarity with embedded computer systems is a natural fit into the world of medical devices—the fact that they all gather and process information. Medical devices are, of…