Speeding product development from components to design services

This firm specializes in developing Class I + II medical devices with a focus on electronics, R&D, system development, and compliance. ISO 13485-certified for design and production, HDA can develop a project—from concept to commercialization with focus on electronics, firmware, software, prototypes, and testing—achieving regulatory compliance. The firm offers electronic design services for medical, aerospace, audio, video, industrial, and wireless, including RF and wireless design, motion control, embedded development, signal integrity analysis, FPGA design, analog design, power electronics, and PCB design. HDA Technology

700- to 1,200-W supplies

QM5 modular power supplies, rated at 700 to 1,200 W, are available with up to 12 outputs, have BF-ready isolation, and feature low acoustic noise. With medical and industrial safety certifications, the power supplies are suitable for use in medical, test-and-measurement, communications, and broadcast equipment.

Accepting a range of 90- to 264-VAC, 47- to 440-Hz input, the QM5 can deliver 700 W at low line and 1,200 W with a 150- to 264-VAC input. With its modular construction, the series can be configured using a simple on-line configurator to provide one to 12 independently regulated outputs with individual output-good signals and remote on/off functions. Module output voltages range from 2.8 V to 52.8 V, and output powers from 300 W to 1,200 W. A further subset of option modules provides an AC-fail signal, standby voltages (up to 12 V, 2 A), global remote on/off, and PMBus communications. Overall case dimensions for the QM5 are 127 x 63.3 x 270 mm.

The QM5 will operate in ambient temperatures of -20 to +70°C, with output power and output current linearly derating above 50°C to 50% at 70°C. With efficiencies of up to 91%, less internal heat is generated, allowing the use of a low-speed cooling fan to reduce audible noise. A lower airflow speed also reduces the ingress of dirt and other contaminants, improving product reliability. All models in the QM Series have a seven-year warranty as standard.

The power supply has 4,000-VAC (2 x MoPPs) input-to-output, 1,500-VAC (1 x MoPPs) input-to-ground, and 1,500-VAC (1 x MoPPs) output-to-ground isolation. All models are certified to IEC/EN/UL/CSA 60601-1, ANSI/AAMI ES 60601-1, and IEC/EN/UL/CSA 60950-1 and are designed to meet IEC/EN61010-1 with CE marking for the Low Voltage and RoHS2 Directives. TDK Corp

Bluetooth module

The BL871E2-HI dual-mode Bluetooth 4.2 host controller interface module includes an embedded chip antenna and audio support. The ultra-compact component is optimized for efficiency and simplicity in end-device design, delivering reliable Bluetooth functionalities with robust endpoint security, leveraging the processing power and external Bluetooth stack of the host application processor. The module includes certifications as well as hardware features that reduce development costs, bill of materials costs, and time to market.
Suitable for quick-turn projects, the BL871E2-HI delivers basic rate (BR), enhanced data rate (EDR), and low-energy (LE) connectivity for applications such as m-healthcare. Telit

Telemedicine video-services platform

Univago Healthcare Edition (Univago HE) is what the vendor calls a transformative addition to its enterprise video services platform, built specifically for healthcare. The Univago HE all-inclusive telemedicine video services platform delivers the versatility, reliability, and security vital to widespread telemedicine adoption, the company said.

Designed from the ground up explicitly for telemedicine applications, Univago HE has patent-pending technologies that ensure reliability and quality in every critical connection between patient and clinician, all with “touch-of-a-button” simplicity.

Univago HE is a fully managed subscription-based service including everything needed to connect patients by video with remote clinicians, healthcare experts, and family members. The platform includes comprehensive monitoring, hardware, software and licenses, intelligent analytics, and clear reporting for healthcare providers.

Every aspect of Univago HE is private, secure, and adheres to standards. Univago HE is HIPAA-compliant (independently verified by Pivot Point Security), ISO 27001-certified, and hosted in hardened, SOC2-certified datacenters to provide total patient privacy and security critical to any telemedicine application.

The company plans to release future iterations of Univago HE extending beyond the confines of hospital walls to support applications for long-term and home health care. Yorktel

Piezo-based FSM platforms

With millisecond response and settling time and high dynamic linearity, the new S-335 fast-steering-mirror (FSM) platforms broaden the vendor’s portfolio of piezo steering mirrors. S-335 platforms are suitable for precision image processing and image stabilization, laser beam steering, materials processing, and lithography.

Piezo motion-based mechanisms provide a variety of features that are sought after in life-science and medical engineering applications, such as sterile ceramic designs and lubricant-free drives, the company reports, citing as examples endoscopy and bio-imaging of the eye.
S-335 steering mirror platforms provide precise angular tip/tilt motion of the top platform around two orthogonal axes. These flexure-guided, electroceramic-driven systems can provide higher accelerations than other actuators, enabling step response times in the submillisecond range, with frictionless backlash-free motion. The single pivot-point design also prevents the drawback of polarization rotation, which is common with conventional 2-axis stacked systems—for example, galvo scanners.

Integrated EDM (electrical discharge machining) flexure-based motion amplifiers provide a tip/tilt angle up to 35 mrad, equal to an optical deflection angle of 70 mrad (4°). ID chip support allows for fast start-up and a simple data exchange between tip/tilt platforms and controllers.

The vendor’s piezo steering mirrors are based on a parallel-kinematics design with coplanar rotational axes and a single moving platform driven by two pairs of differential actuators. The advantage is jitter-free, multi-axis motion with temperature stability, the company says, adding that compared to stacked (two-stage) mirror scanners, the parallel-kinematics design provides symmetrical dynamic performance in both axes with faster response and better linearity in a smaller package. PI (Physik)

Power connectors

An enhanced power-product offering includes an expanded current rating for 17 connectors. The higher current carrying capability allows the power connectors to be used in a wide range of medical, consumer, home-appliance, and other applications.

The connectors with the increased current rating include wire-to-board, board-to-board, wire-to-wire, and plug-in versions. For example, the DF Series wire-to-board power connectors highlight the current rating increase. Previously rated at 50 A, the DF60 Series can now support up to 65 A, while the DF22 Series current rating has increased from 30 A to 43 A. These DF Series connectors combine small size and high current capacity with user-friendly operation and solve a number of design and engineering concerns, particularly when reliability and space savings are required.

In addition, the current rating of the FX30B Series board-to-board connector has been increased from 15 A to 25 A. Part of the FunctionMax connector family, the FX30B Series features a floating structure that offers a degree of play between the contacts during mating, allowing the connector to absorb alignment errors.

Additional connectors with expanded current ratings include the PS2, PS3, PS3C, PS3F, EF1, EM12M, EM35, HR41, HR41A, EM30M, EM40M, EM52M, EV2, and DF63 Series. Hirose

Wearables development kit

The SmartBond DA14681 development kit provides the hardware and software required to help manufacturers minimize time to market when creating next-generation wearable devices. The kit comprises a complete hardware and software design for a wrist-worn wearable that offers heart-rate monitoring, activity tracking, and environmental sensing. The kit is based on the high-performance, low-power SmartBond DA14681 SoC, which combines flexible processing power for advanced applications, integrated battery charging, and data security. The kit features a complete range of sensors, including a 6-axis accelerometer and gyroscope; 3-axis digital geomagnetic sensor; and a temperature, humidity, and pressure sensor. With a 128×128-pixel ultralow-power LCD screen, capacitive touch button, and support for NFC payment, the kit enables manufacturers to start prototyping without needing extra hardware.

Offering a user-friendly experience, the kit comes with a complete software package that is specifically designed for wearables, including royalty-free advanced algorithms for sensor fusion, activity classification, and sleep monitoring. With full documentation and tooling, the kit is easy to set up, allowing engineers to start prototyping out of the box. Dialog Semiconductor, available from Mouser Electronics

Intelligent medical cart

The lightweight Geni-Cart includes a smart wireless power system plus a wireless video system with a 32-inch medical display and is able to support various medical, video. and computing systems. By adopting wireless technology, Geni-Cart can transfer data including image/video signals with other equipment. Made of antibacterial material, it is usable in hospitals, dental clinics, surgery rooms, and other medical venues.

Geni-Cart’s smart wireless power system, Geni-Tec, employs a rechargeable polymer lithium (Li-Po) battery pack with 200-Wh capacity. It carries an IP66 rating for protection against water and dust and to facilitate cleaning and maintenance.

A power charge-level indicator facilitates battery recharge management, and a hot-swap and snap-and-go mechanism speeds disassembly and installation. Also included is online remote battery-status monitoring software and a machine status management system. Avalue Technology Inc.