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PCBs for Medical Applications: A Designer's Perspective
December 24, 2014 |Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Introduction
PCBs are an increasingly important part of modern medical devices--especially electromechanical devices. The opportunities are large, but PCB designers and manufacturers must be aware of and work within the regulations and limitations in the medical device design process. This article will provide an overview of the medical device design process, the role of PCBs in that process and in modern medical devices, and include design considerations and tips for incorporating PCBs into medical devices.
Medical Device Design Process
The medical device development industry is heavily regulated. Not only are the characteristics and performance of the devices regulated, the design and development processes are as well. The focus is on well-defined and understood requirements, quantification of risk of harm to patient and operator, verification that the design meets the specifications and finally validation that the design is effective and safe.
Many medical devices are manufactured in lower volume than consumer electronics and have higher margins; and most have longer design cycles. Notwithstanding these differences, the technologies used in medical devices are often heavily leveraged from consumer electronics. This means the same creep towards higher density circuits and component packaging applies in the medical field. The same techniques of replacing wiring harnesses with PCBs and flex circuits that are found in consumer electronics are found in medical devices, although the drive towards these technologies may be increased reliability and reduced labour cost instead of decreased size and reduced parts cost.Read the full article here.Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of The PCB Magazine.