Medical Electronics

Researchers in the UK and Italy believe a breakthrough in treatment of motor disorders, such as epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease, may be possible and with electronic neuron interface devices fabricated from pure graphene, writes Richard Wilson. Treatment of patients with motor disorders such as Parkinson’s disease could one day benefit from graphene, the highly conductive material which is expected to ...

Scandal-stricken Toshiba is selling its medical unit to Canon in a bid to raise cash. The deal is expected to raise about $6 billion. Canon now gains exclusive negotiating rights for Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation after winning a hotly contested auction. Fujifilm and Konica Minolta teamed up with private equity firm Permira to make an unsuccessful bid. Toshiba Medical is ...

Recom has added to its medical-certified power supply offering with the RACM40 (40W) and RACM65 (65W) units. Both of the series operate with an input voltage range of 85 to 264Vac and deliver 5Vdc, 12Vdc, 15Vdc, 24Vdc and 48Vdc output voltages, which can be trimmed over a ±10% range to meet the exact requirements of the application. All models feature ...

Imec, Holst Centre and TNO, have presented a 0.6V ECG readout chip in 40nm technology based on time-domain circuit techniques. The chip maintains consistent beat detection capabilities, even under movement (~40mVpp), paving the way to a low cost, low power multi-sensor SoC solutions for wearable medical applications. There is a clear need for emerging applications in personal healthcare to add ...

This month features the problem of spurious monitored signals in hospitals, which comes up in CareFusion Corporation’s GB patent. Michael Jaeger, patent attorney at leading UK patent and trade mark attorneys Withers & Rogers LLP, writes: GB Patent Number: GB2476862 Granted to: CareFusion Corporation I’ve certainly overheard some interesting discussions between my children recently… “I don’t like drinking water” my daughter ...

Canon and Kyoto University have developed technology that will reduce the price of an MRI scanner machine to a tenth of their current cost, reports the Nikkei. MRI machines currently cost between $4 million and $8 million. Canon’s technology is reducing that to $400,000 to $800,000. Smaller and more affordable MRI scanners will make cancer screenings easier and more widespread ...

Researchers from the University of Glasgow claim to have found a way to make swallowable cameras which can be used for detecting cancers of the throat and gut. Tiny sensing systems small enough for patients to swallow have been used by doctors but these devices have relied on additional illumination with a separate light source and have been restricted to ...

Imec has produced silicon neural probes that combine 12 monolithically integrated optrodes using a CMOS compatible process which enable optical stimulation and electronic detection of individual neurons, based on optogenetics techniques. The probes pave the way to a greater understanding of the brain and towards novel treatments for brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism, and epilepsy. The enormous burden ...

Powerbox has introduced a range of medical power supplies which combine low leakage with electromagnetic compatibility designed for medical systems in CF class and BF class. The OFM30 series of 30W open-frame supplies has specified leakage current is less than 10µA, and EMC Class B average margin is 6dB. They will deliver 30W in continuous operation (peak up to 45W) ...

Schurter is tackling earth-borne interference currents in mains-powered equipment by adding a ground choke to its filtered power entry modules. Fitted in the KFA series of mains input modules alongside the existing phase and neutral common-mode choke, X capacitor and Y capacitors; as well as breaking ground-loops for audio, said the firm, special medical versions of the filters also improve ...