Originally Published MEM Spring 2003
FROM THE EDITOR
A biotech-microtech convergence will redefine the design of implantables, surgical tools, and drug-delivery systems. Using nanotechnology, microelectromechanical systems, and new materials, diagnostic and monitoring equipment will stretch the definition of system on a chip in the coming decade.
These predictions come from Sir Robin Saxby, chairman of ARM Holdings plc, a UK-based developer of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions.
"New applications will be truly Harry Potter," said Saxby in his keynote address at the Embedded Systems Conference April 23. He says the embedded market for more intelligent devices will continue to grow. The opportunity for intelligent portable devices will emerge with the development of the billion-transistor chip predicted by 2007.
Saxby focused on three key areas of opportunity: health monitoring, improved faculties (e.g., hearing and sight), and disease management. With these opportunities come challenges to be addressed, including concerns about patient confidentiality. But, he says, the role of embedded systems in patient care and drug administration will mean better monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment, fewer mistakes, and decreased healthcare costs.
Saxby noted that HIPAA legislation is already driving the need for change and will help fuel this growth. "Medical records must be in portable form, and there must be secure access to patient data," he says.
With security comes the need for automated methods of recognition. Saxby says biometrics will be key in forming the foundation of highly secure personal verification systems that will replace PINs and passwords.
The possibilities seem to be endless. Saxby noted many products already in development and many more in their early stages. Medtronic has developed an insertable loop recorder that monitors heart rhythm. Health monitoring using wireless systems is quickly becoming a reality. Saxby predicts that in the next 10 years, medical monitoring will impact the microprocessor industry much the same way the mobile phone did in the last 10 years.
The medical industry has some additional challenges, however. FDA will have to find ways to address these new devices. Keeping in mind time to market, it would certainly expedite the approval process if semiconductor companies could get their chips approved just once rather than with each new device submitted to FDA.
Sherrie Conroy, Editor
Copyright ©2003 Medical Electronics Manufacturing
