Medical Electronics Product Roundup
A sampling of recently released products
Connectors and cables
AVX's (Myrtle Beach, SC) MMA SMT stacking connectors are specifically designed to maximize high-speed signal integrity, and support a system bandwidth in excess of 5 GHz. Fujitsu Components America's (Sunnyvale, CA) high-speed copper microGiGaCN connector series has added a vertical board-mount I/O socket optimized for differential signal transmission of 3.125 Gbits/s over standard FR-4 material.
A new series of backplane and card-edge interconnect solutions from Compel Electronics (Harvard, MA) accommodates RF/microwave, digital, and power signals to be routed through the same housing. Alden Products (Brockton, MA) has expanded its Pulse-Lok medical instrumentation connectors with the PL-900, which offers up to 52 contact positions in a 900-thousandth-diameter package.
Alden Products' PL-900 connector
From Mill-Max (Oyster Bay, NY), two pin/socket interconnect pairs for terminating medical cables are manufactured using precision turning technology, and suit 0.050-in. and 2-mm-pitch grid applications. Canfield Connector (Youngstown, OH) has developed its 8- and 12-mm 5F and 5J solenoid valve connectors to be virtually indestructible, with molded in screws and gaskets.
Synergetix (Kansas City, KS) is offering compact, multi-cycle spring-contact connectors based on probe technology that claim to improve electrical current flow characteristics and component cycle life. Spring pin connectors from Yokowo (Arlington Heights, IL) offer a long working stroke, multiple contact points, stable contact pressure, and a one-touch or slide mating connector.
The type 120-M-221-SMD surface-mount terminal block from WECO Electrical Connectors (Baie d Urf�, Quebec, Canada) is a multi-pole 5-mm header that performs total dynamic adaptability to planar variations of pc-board surface. WAGO (Germantown, WI) has introduced its 236 Series terminal blocks, which optimize the solder pin length to adapt to the reflow process and use high-temperature-resistant plastic for the insulation housing.
WAGO's 236 Series terminal blocks
From Schurter (Santa Rosa, CA) comes the DC11 and DC12 power entry modules that combine an ac inlet with an optional EMC filter and a recessed rocker switch. In addition, the company is offering the C20F, a snap-in version of its filtered ac connector for use in medical supplies rated to 20 A at 125 V.
ODU-USA (Camarillo, CA) has introduced a special version part in its Medi-Snap line�a fluid insert connector that operates at a maximum working pressure of 2 bar. Self-supported trackless cable assemblies from W. L. Gore & Associates (Elkton, MD) function in a controlled motion without a cable track or energy chain for stroke lengths up to 60 in. and acceleration up to 40 G.
Rapid Conn (Foothill Ranch, CA) is offering a complete line of Serial ATA cables that feature a proprietary solderless termination of the signal and ground conductors for enhanced reliability. Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) cords from Autac (North Branford, CT) are available in 12 to 28 AWG and can be used on defibrillators, nurse call buttons and hospital beds, and for various lighting purposes.
Displays and LEDs
High-resolution, wide viewing angle, brightness, and contrast are among the critical requirements for displays and optoelectronics used in medical applications. The recently announced NL128102BM29-05 19-in. SXGA monochrome LCD module from NEC Electronics America (Santa Clara, CA) meets all these requirements, and is compliant with the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard.
From Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas (Camas, WA), the LQ035Q7DH01 3.5-in. transflective advanced-TFT portrait-mode QVGA LCD offers 100 cd/m2 of brightness, for high performance in all ambient light environments. Half and full VGA-size Smart GUI Modules from Amulet Technologies (San Francisco, CA) come with their own microprocessor, graphics library, and LCD controller to expand graphics and content capability of embedded systems.
Fema Electronics (Dayton, NJ) is offering OLED display modules�the CM162K-OLX2LY and CM202E-OLX2LY character modules and the GM12864G-OLX1CLY graphic module�as drop-in replacements for popular-size LCDs currently in use. Single-digit APPSA and dual-digit APPDA series 0.4-in.-character-height SMD alphanumeric LED displays from Kingbright (City of Industry, CA) feature high contrast and light output with outer material that is mechanically rugged.
Elma Electronic (Fremont, CA) has announced bi-color SMD LEDs that use the same 1201 series footprint as the company's single-color LEDs, allowing them to be used as drop-in replacements. A turnkey design/build service for control/display modules from Durex Industries (Cary, IL) offers OEMs microprocessor-based, multifunction packages including a pc-board, membrane or touch keypad control, display, and automation software.
Durex Industries' control/display modules
Power sources
In addition to meeting key safety standards for low leakage and emissions, power supplies for the medical equipment market must often meet cost, small size, and ruggedness demands. The UL-, CSA-, and EN-approved ECM130 130-W open-frame supply from XpiQ (Holliston, MA) is designed for space-limited medical applications, and features a footprint of 76 x 127 x 32.5 (H) mm.
XpiQ's ECM130 power supply
From Wall Industries (Exeter, NH), the DTMPU30 series 30-W desktop supply has full medical approval to UL, cUL, and TUV EN60601-1, and measures 67 x 106 x 36 mm with dc outputs from 3 to 48 V. The Max Power switch-mode supplies from Jerome Industries (Elizabeth, NJ) offer output power to 180 W, and are approved to UL, CSA, and EN for domestic and international standards.
WAGO (Germantown, WI) has introduced its 787 series UL- and CUL-approved switch-mode DIN-rail-mount supplies featuring metal-clad housing, a more compact design, and easier field serviceability. A desktop smart charger/calibrator from Inspired Energy (Alachua, FL), the CH5000A, simplifies the battery pack recalibration process for medical device users by eliminating the need to tie up medical devices during recalibration of battery packs.
Semiconductors
Optimized for portable medical devices, the MSP430FG43x ultra-low-power microcontrollers from Texas Instruments (Dallas, TX) offer a “signal-chain-on-chip” including three configurable precision op amps to reduce analog front-end design time. Other ICs from the company suited for the high-performance signal processing demands of medical applications include the 300-MHz TMS320C6713 DSP, the ADS5500 14-bit 125-Msample/s A/D converter, and the eight-channel 10- and 12-bit 65-Msample/s ADS527x A/D converters with serial LVDS.
Featuring serial LVDS output, the 12-bit 50-/65-Msample/s AD9229 and 8-bit 65-Msample/s AD9289 quad A/D converters from Analog Devices (Norwood, MA) suit high-channel-density space-constrained applications, such as medical imaging systems. Four new ColdFire microprocessor families�the MCF547x, MCF548x, MCF523x, and MCF527x�from Freescale Semiconductor (Austin, TX) are designed to reduce memory requirements, power dissipation, system board size, and costs in a variety of industrial applications.
Linear Technology's (Milpitas, CA) LT6230, LT6231, and LT6232 215-MHz op amps are optimized for low-supply-voltage signal conditioning systems, while the LTC6915 precision instrumentation amplifier offers digitally programmable gain and a CMRR of 125 dB. Offered as a single-chip solution for medical and metering applications, the ultra-low-power ZoomingADC XE88LC02 from Xemics (Mountain View, CA) combines a programmable gain/offset amplifier, 120-segment LCD driver, communications interface, and high resolution A/D converter.
Ideal for nonlinear measurement or panel-meter applications, Maxim Integrated Products' (Sunnyvale, CA) MAX1497 3.5-digit sigma-delta A/D converter includes an LED display driver, on-chip oscillator, and internal reference in a 28-pin SSOP. Also offered are the MAX1415, MAX1416, and MX7705 high-resolution 16-bit dual A/D converters, which consume only 1 mW at 3 V and include a 1:128 PGA.
The TSL237 light-to-frequency converter from TAOS (Plano, TX) senses light levels down to 0.00002 lux, suiting it for applications requiring high-resolution, low-light-level measurements, and temperature stability. IDT (Santa Clara, CA) offers its 72T6360 and 72T6480 Sequential Flow-Control devices that manage high-capacity queuing of sequential broadband communications information, offering increased data throughput and reduced latency for demanding network system applications.
IDT's 72T6360 and 72T6480 Sequential Flow-Control devices
Intended for driving high-current actuators, the A3932, A3935, A3938, A3940, and A3946 pre-driver ICs from Allegro MicroSystems (Worcester, MA) feature a wide operating temperature range, fault diagnostics and reposting, and operation over a wide voltage range. The open-frame 10-A 200-V MP108 power amplifier from Apex Microtechnology (Tucson, AZ) with a power bandwidth of 300 kHz is suited to ultrasonic transducers, typically used in MRI, CT scanners, and other medical imaging applications.
The FT2232C dual-port USB-to-serial/parallel I/O IC from Future Technology Devices International (Glasgow, Scotland) allows galvanically isolated designs to communicate synchronously with the device using just four wires. Offering low distortion, high ESD protection, and small packaging, Fairchild Semiconductor's (South Portland, ME) FSA125x high-performance analog switches target cell phones, portable medical electronics, and industrial instrumentation. HV Components Associates' (Farmingdale, NJ) SM3FG rectifier is a 3,000-V SMT device with gull wing leads to provide better lead separation and to meet medical standards for dielectric standoff for an SMA package.
Looking ahead, an ultra-low-power heart-rate receiver ASIC from austriamicrosystems (Raleigh, NC) will be integrated into a wristwatch and will receive and process a coded heart-rate signal that is wirelessly transmitted from the wearer's chest belt. Maxell Corporation of America (Fair Lawn, NJ) is leveraging its Coil-on-Chip RFID tags to offer an RFID-embedded test tube form factor for space-constrained systems, providing laboratories, medical diagnostic companies, and pharmaceutical clinical trials a means to track and ensure the integrity of patient and sample data and test results.
Xilinx Design Services (San Jose, CA) is assisting in the development of a retinal examination system that will use the company's Virtex-II Pro FPGAs to receive and process imaging data. And STMicroelectronics (Lexington, MA) is jointly developing a complete system for genomic-based detection of infectious diseases based on a silicon MEMS biochip, promising clinical diagnostic laboratories faster, cheaper, and more user-friendly access to genomic-based techniques.
Passives, sensors, and electromechanicals
Combining a high-torque stepping motor with on-board electronics, Mdrives from Intelligent Motion Systems (Marlborough, CT) offer to reduce system cost, design, and assembly time for stepping motor applications such as many medical devices. Micropump (Vancouver, WA) has introduced a line of high-pressure micro annular gear pumps that can be placed anywhere within a piece of equipment for precise fluid delivery.
Micropump's micro annular gear pumps
Providing medical equipment designers with a noncontact means of detecting liquid through transparent tubing, OPTEK Technology's (Carrollton, TX) OPB350 optoelectronic sensor is packaged in a housing designed to accommodate tubing up to 3.18 mm in diameter. MTS Sensors (Cary, NC) has introduced a line of cost-effective magnetorestrictive sensors in stroke lengths of 72 to 250 mm suiting fluid level measurement and position measurement in medical equipment and applications.
Pressure Profile Systems (Los Angeles, CA) has introduced the C500 Tactile Sensor, a thin customizable three-wire device that uses conformable pressure sensors to accurately measure applied forces no matter how miniscule. Designed for end products or embedded systems that need to measure forces resulting from tilt, motion, shock, or vibration, the MMA62xxQ MEMS low-gravity sensors from Freescale Semiconductor (Austin, TX) range from 1.5 to 10 g and detect movement in two directions.
Suited for filtering and coupling in medical implantable applications, a 0.040 x 0.080-in. multilayer discoidal capacitor from Spectrum Control (Fairview, PA) is available in three voltages�25, 50, and 100 Vdc�with values from 22 to 26,000 pF. The Chromaxx Series chromium silicon oxide thin-film resistors from TT Electronics IRC (Corpus Christi, TX) offer values up to 15 MW for medical and instrumentation applications. The Cap Rack from Novacap (Valencia, CA) is an assembly of individual chip capacitors that permits the construction of dissimilar capacitance values or dielectrics into one single component, freeing up pc-board space and reducing thermal stress during assembly.
The THERMLfilm PP 280 PP 320 direct thermal printable white polypropylene films from FLEXcon (Spencer, MA) suit on-demand variable imaging and bar code labeling in a variety of applications, including healthcare. The XO7068-006/7 voltage-controlled crystal oscillators and Models 8596/7 LC filters from Piezo Technology (Orlando, FL) suit diagnostics and telemedicine, respectively.
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