Medical, Healthcare & Wellness

September 2019
The Future of Healthcare – Is Technology Changing it?
Many readers might know that the US is ranked 37th in the world for quality of medical care by the CDC, yet we pay more than twice of what the next country pays. How can we spend so much and get so little? It’s certainly not due to the lack of technology.  Recently, I went for my annual checkup and my doctor
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Date:
09/30/2019
Detecting Your Heart Rate

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Figure 1: Primary ECG signals (source Maxim Integrated – Design Guide How to Measure Biopotential ECG Using a Chest Strap)

Smart watches and wearable fitness trackers have become must-have replacements for the humble watch. Whatever our exercise regime, whether daily or weekly, our wearable device is capable of tracking our heart rate continuously, from resting to an intensive workout. Monitoring the heart rate also allows other da
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Date:
09/30/2019
The Human Body: Technology's Harshest Environment

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Figure 1: The start line of the Badwater Ultramarathon, at Badwater Basin, which marks the lowest elevation in North America.

The human body withstands a multitude of harsh conditions, from high temperatures to chilling winds, and from submersion in water to rigorous exercise. Our bodies enable us to satisfy our yearnings for adventure, while helping us survive in constantly evolving environments. Also, thanks to the inventiveness of the hu
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Date:
09/30/2019
Economic Benefits of Regenerative Electronic Loads

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Figure 1. The classic “bathtub curve” is often used to describe the failure rates of electronic devices

Switch-mode power supplies used in data centers, industrial equipment, medical devices and other critical applications are typically subjected to burn-in operation at full load over an extended period to root out early failures and ensure reliable operation over the supply’s rated lifetime. (Figure 1.) The tradition
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Date:
09/30/2019
Do We Really Need a New Safety Standard?

Figure 1: IEC/EN 62368-1 is not a merge of the two standards IEC/EN 60065 and IEC/EN 60950 but a completely new one introducing a new way of working

Safety regulations have been in place for decades in the power industry and as we know only too well, all have been through lots of revisions. And although each revision has made them more stringent and tailored to our businesses, we have become familiar with designing products to conform to latest versions. So
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Date:
09/30/2019
Technology Can Help Take the Strain Off Doctors
Welcome to PSD's October dynamic content. The “Special Focus” is on the subject of technology for medical, healthcare and wellness applications. It is a subject that affects us all and new technologies will make a profound difference for many more people in the near term. In the developed work, most countries hav
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Date:
09/30/2019
Building Healthier and More Efficient People
Baseball is a haven for stats geeks – small wonder I love it so much. Nearly every play, action, and movement can be quantified with a value. And recently, sabermetrics – or the empirical analysis of baseball – has gone far beyond the Moneyball era’s market inefficiencies. The modern game seeks to build be
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Date:
09/30/2019
Innovative high-power, high-frequency transformer
Murata’s innovative and patented pdqb winding technology makes it possible to construct high frequency transformers of up to and over 400 kW that can operate at frequencies as high as 50 kHz. The pdqb winding technique overcomes the skin and proximity effects as well as other high frequency losses associated w
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Date:
09/26/2019
High reliability 80W DC/DC converter with 10 year warranty
Packaged in an industry standard 2x1 inch, six sided, shielded metallic case, the MGF80 series has been designed to Cosel’s strict criteria for high performance and reliability, contributing to the company’s world class quality with a failure rate of below 30 parts-per-million (ppm). All components are sele
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Date:
09/26/2019
Technology enhances and simplifies design of 75 to 150W outputs
The SA modules are available with 5V /15A, 12V /12.5A, 15V /10A and 24V /6.25A outputs and offer a cost-effective solution for low power output requirements. The SA module’s patented loop control design uses a digital controller and TDK-Lambda developed algorithms. Phase mode control provides higher stability ac
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Date:
09/26/2019
Business Investment Platform Launched for Batteries
The EBA reconfirms that the business size of the European battery value chain will represent more than 250B€ annually, by 2025. Designed to bridge the gap between financial institutions and businesses, the BIP will shorten time to investment and substantially reduce the associated risk for both parties by
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Date:
09/26/2019
Highly efficient 150W & 200W approved external PSUs
Typical efficiencies for ALM150 models reach 93%, and 92% for the ALM200 models. All of the new PSUs meet Energy Efficiency Level VI and consume less than 0.15W in standby mode. For medical applications, the PSUs are approved to ANSI/AMMI ES60601-1, ANSI/AMMI HA60601-1-11, EN/IEC60601-1 and EN/IEC60601-1-11. Bot
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Date:
09/26/2019
EMC components: Extended range of power line chokes
The new components are available in three different core shapes with different rated currents and inductance values, delivering great design flexibility. The B82116B* rod core chokes cover rated currents of 10 A, 21 A and 25 A and offer inductance values of 1.8 μH, 3.3 μH and 3.4 μH. Both B82116S* mushroom core
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Date:
09/26/2019
New integrated point-of-load regulator increases efficiency
It is a fully integrated and highly efficient device in two versions (IR3826AM for 16 A and IR3826M for 23 A) for applications such as netcom router and switches, datacom, telecom base stations, server and enterprise storage. The voltage regulator can operate from an input voltage of 12 V (5 V to 17 V) and provide up
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Date:
09/26/2019
LED drivers deliver high-current stability in portable devices
Key features include independently controlled output currents configured through an I2C-compatible interface and the ability to combine two devices (with different device identification addresses) to drive four LEDs up to 6A for quad-channel applications. The AL3644 is offered in chip-scale packaging and combines
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Date:
09/26/2019
Active current sharing added to BMR490 DC-DC converter
The current sharing capability enables two or more converters to be used in parallel for demanding datacom applications, thus delivering higher power on a single rail and improving redundancy. Up to six BMR490 converters may be used in parallel. When used in combination with OR-ing, this increases redundancy,
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Date:
09/26/2019
Analog Devices ADF437x Synthesizers, Now at Mouser
The ADF4371 delivers one of the highest frequency synthesizers in the industry today, offering the widest continuous RF output range available — 62 MHz to 32 GHz — while the ADF4372 operates at 62 MHz to 16 GHz for designs that do not require the higher frequency. Analog Devices’ ADF4371 and ADF4372 microwave wide
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Date:
09/26/2019
TSR-WI Series – New 0.6 and 1A POL converters
Covering the majority of standard bus- and battery voltages this POL converter line is a versatile solution for many applications in distributed power systems where different input voltages have to be handled. Being able to use the same converter in many different situations effectively reduces the bill of mater
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Date:
09/26/2019
RS Components adds robust TDK-Lambda power supply series
The cost-effective RWS-B series of AC-DC industrial power supplies comprises 10 models, each coming with an isolated 5V 1A standby voltage option. This latter feature makes the series suitable for markets including industrial, communications, test and measurement, LED signage equipment, and alternative-energy ap
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Date:
09/26/2019
Surface-mount isolated DC/DC converters maximise flexibility
The converters deliver a space-saving solution for bus isolation and general industrial power applications. These open-frame surface-mount modules are available with standard isolation rating of 1kV/second or in a high-voltage 3kV/second version. Customers can choose a nominal input voltage of 5V with unregu
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Date:
09/26/2019
Digi-Key signs global distribution partnership with Directed Energy
This new partnership adds to the more than 8.7 million products available from more than 800 manufacturers through Digi-Key. Directed Energy provides ready-to-use modules for driving laser diodes as well as applications requiring a high voltage pulse. Directed Energy's modules allow users to focus on their e
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Date:
09/26/2019
Rugged wide-range input 6/10W power modules
The DTE06 and DTE10 DC-DC converters provide 6W and 10W of power and offer a 4:1 input range, giving a wide tolerance for fluctuating supplies. With nominal inputs of 12/24VDC and 24/48VDC the series cover inputs between 9.0VDC and 75.0VDC. The devices are supplied fully potted in chassis mount format with screw ter
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Date:
09/26/2019
TTI Adds All Sensors to Global Line Card
Fort Worth, Texas – TTI, Inc., has announced today the company has entered into a North America distribution agreement with All Sensors Corporation, an Amphenol company. All Sensors is an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of ultra-low pressure sensors. Lew LaFornara, TTI Vice President, Suppl
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Date:
09/25/2019
MLFA AEC-Q200 Compliant MELF Expands Value Range
RALEIGH, NC – Stackpole's MLFA AEC-Q200 compliant MELFs are now available in an expanded value range of 1 ohm to 3.4Meg ohm. The MLFA offers power ratings of 0.3W in the 0102 package size, 0.4W in the 0204, and 1W in the 0207 size. Tolerances down to 0.1% and TCR as low as 15 ppm are available for a limited value ra
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Date:
09/23/2019
1000 W AC-DC Enclosed Power Supplies
Santa Clara, CA - Bel Power Solutions announced the ABE1000 Series and MBE1000 Series of enclosed power supplies, which are ideal for industrial (ABE Series) and medical (MBE Series) applications and available in a variety of single output voltages. The ABE1000 Series features a wide universal AC input range of 8
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Date:
09/19/2019
Miniaturizing Medical Imaging, Sensing Technology

Scientists have used a microchip to map the back of the eye for disease diagnosis. The interference technology used in the microchip has been around for a little while. This is the first time technical obstacles have been overcome to fabricate a miniature device able to capture high quality images.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Scientists in Christine Hendon's and Michal Lipson's research groups at Columbia University, New York, have used a microchip to map the back of the eye for disease diagnosis. The interference technology, like bat sonar but using light instead of sound waves, used in the microchip has been ar
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Date:
09/18/2019
LDO Linear Regulator can Help Double Battery Life
DALLAS - Texas Instruments (TI) introduced an ultra-low-power low-dropout (LDO) linear voltage regulator with the industry’s lowest quiescent current (IQ) of sub-25 nA – one-tenth that of competing ultra-small devices. The new regulator features low IQ control at light loads even in dropout conditions, allo
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Date:
09/17/2019
New Health Monitors are Flexible and Graphene-Enabled

Flexible and transparent bracelet that uses graphene to measure heart rate, respiration rate and blood pulse oxygenation continuously.

New technological devices are prioritizing non-invasive tracking of vital signs not only for fitness monitoring, but also for the prevention of common health problems such as heart failure, hypertension, and stress related complications, among others. Wearables based on optical detection mechanisms are proving an
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Date:
09/13/2019
Flash Memory Solutions Provide Code and Data Storage
SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Alliance Memory announced that the company has bolstered its product offering with a new line of 5V parallel NOR Flash memory products in boot and uniform sectored architectures. Available in densities from 1M to 16M, the devices offer access times of 55ns to enable fast, low-latency read sp
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Date:
09/12/2019
Open Source Initiative for Wearable Sensor Algorithms

This is Geoffrey Gill, President, Shimmer Americas.

CAMBRIDGE, MA - Shimmer Research announced the launch of a healthcare industry open source initiative for wearable sensor algorithms. The initiative is being co-founded by Shimmer, Dr. Vincent van Hees, author of the GGIR software and algorithms for movement sensor calibration, sensor wear detection, and signal ag
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Date:
09/12/2019
ATS Services Provide Cooling Answers for Digi-Key Customers
NORWOOD, MA – Advanced Thermal Solutions, Inc. (ATS) is now providing design engineering services for companies doing business with leading electronic components distributor Digi-Key Electronics, through their Design Services Provider network. ATS offers comprehensive thermal analysis and design services
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Date:
09/11/2019
600 W AC-DC and DC-DC Convection-Cooled Power Supplies
Bel Power Solutions announced the ACC600 Series and MCC600 Series of convection cooled open frame power supplies which are ideal for industrial (ACC Series) and medical (MCC Series) applications and available in a variety of single output voltages. The ACC600 Series features a wide universal AC input range of 8
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Date:
09/05/2019
Wearable Medical Devices Need Sophisticated Power Management

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Figure 1: MAX32660 block diagram. (Source: Maxim Integrated)

Ultra-portable wearable monitoring devices allow patients with long-term and chronic illnesses to integrate their monitoring with their daily lives, allowing a high degree of care to be delivered with more convenience than ever before. However, powering these devices for long periods without resorting to a bulky ba
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Date:
09/04/2019
Battery Charger with Industry's Lowest Termination Current
DALLAS – Texas Instruments (TI) introduced a new switching battery charger integrated circuit (IC) that supports a termination current of 20 mA. Compared to competing devices, which typically support a termination current higher than 60 mA, TI’s BQ25619 enables 7% higher battery capacity and longer run time. Th
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Date:
09/03/2019
Huge Technology Investment is Not Short of Critics
As well as writing about technology, I try to keep up with the latest news from the sector. Personally, I’m more interested in the technology itself, rather than the business side of things, but I also try keep up with that side when I can. This month, one article caught my eye, in fact it made me do a double ta
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Date:
09/03/2019
Electronics Test and Measurement Market
The general-purpose electronics test equipment segment includes oscilloscopes, signal generators, digital multimeters, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, Bit Error Rate Testers (BERT), Vector Network analyzers, power meters, electronic counters, modular instrumentation, Automated Test Equipment (ATE), and po
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Date:
09/03/2019
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