Originally Published EMDM
November 2003
Technology News
Partnership Seeks to Bring Innovative Interfaces to Medical Devices |
| Projection keyboards can be used in medical environments to eliminate contamination considerations. |
Sophisticated input systems and electronic perception components are poised to replace traditional data entry methods in medical and industrial products. At least that’s the belief of
Advanced Input Devices (AID; Ringwood, Hants, UK). The company has signed an agreement with
Canesta (San Jose, CA, USA) to apply the company’s electronic perception technology to a range of devices.
Canesta’s technology is widely known for its use in projection keyboards. The image of a keyboard is projected by a tiny light source onto an easy-to-clean surface, and a perception chip in the same device senses the user’s finger movements in real time. “There are a variety of applications that require sophisticated input methodologies, but need them to be indestructible, space-efficient, or configurable in ways that go beyond traditional techniques,” says AID president Brad Lawrence. “When we saw Canesta’s technology, we realized immediately that it could enhance the way many of the systems for our most important markets could be constructed.”
In medical applications, a projection keyboard could be used in place of physical keyboards and CRT- or LCD-based touch screens, eliminating contamination and maintenance considerations. “We believe that many applications will emerge that can leverage this technology,” says Chris Newman, vice president of sales and marketing at AID.
Rita
Emmanouilidou
Copyright ©2003 European Medical Device Manufacturer
