Medical Electronics to Leverage off Mobile Handset
Telehealth, E-Health,Wi-Health….The mobile handset has changed the way we live and communicate and we will see the same effect on portable medical electronics in the future. A cell phone that doubles as a wireless diagnostic tool may be a few years out due to infrastructure development but small adoptions in medical electronics will provide an immediate impact. Let’s look at a several key design areas that should be examined.
Handsets are everywhere and the consumer is educated on features like resolution, audio fidelity, plug-in and wireless peripherals. The portable medical segment has noticed these features but implementation into legacy medical is not an easy task due to IEC regulations and slow product design cycles. The adoption of mobile handset features into the portable medical segment will take place over time but there are several key areas that designers can focus on now.
Power
Power is at the top of the list. Until an alternative is proven, the battery as we know it is the medium of choice for the coming future. The cell phone’s 3.7V Li-Ion battery has seen growth in copious volumes and has driven the development of new DC/DC products from the IC industry. This includes a range of integrated synchronous buck devices with max recommended inputs of 5.5V and numerous charging schemes. Get rid of that stacked C123 cell battery giving 6-9Vs and you will see some nice power solutions that combine both high performance and cost effectiveness.
I/O
The USB port is becoming more important for mobile handsets. The portable medical market is aware of this vast adoption, however adding the port and complying with the industry’s IEC60601 standard can be a difficult task. (Optocouplers or magnetic isolation is required at the data pins or after the PHY.) Fortunately, there are simple charge detect ICs available to aid in adding USB power and providing Over Voltage Protection (OVP).
USB devices can minimize the number of external ports on your medical device and can mux other signals such as audio, video and sensors onto a shared connector port. When you need to transfer data off your medical device in a hurry but with shortest impact to design schedules, consider adding an external SDIO memory port. This is a win-win solution that improves time-to-market for the designer. By using an available port on the microcontroller it offers the user a familiar and established memory interface.
Packaging
Portable medical devices are space constrained. The enhanced packaging technology from mobile handsets has already been proliferated widely and can be leveraged in portable medical applications. ICs are available in sub 1×1mm packages in the form of bumped Chip Scale Packaging (CSP) and established MLP form factors. Examples include a simple P channel MOSFET or a new I2C lever translator / repeater. Does your manufacturer like leads? How about the SOT-923F?
Cell phones operate on a platform concept and medical is just starting to adopt this feature to improve time-to-market and leverage extensive testing. Medical electronics symposiums are starting to discuss these topics and more. Look for more product solutions from semiconductor manufacturers in the coming months.
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