Medical Device Link.

FROM THE EDITOR

THERMOCOUPLES

Rules of Thumb for Thermocouples in Medical Devices
Art Volbrecht

Thermocouples can perform accurately and cost-effectively over a long service lifetime if they are properly matched to the application.

Sidebar: Rules of Good Thermocouple Practice

RELIABILITY

Using Lubricants to Avoid Failures in Medical Electronic Connectors
Sibtain Hamid

Lubricating materials with high positional stability can prevent the corrosion that threatens device reliability.

OUTSOURCING

Maintaining Competitive Advantage in the Low-Volume Medical Device Market
Robin Tichy

North American makers of portable electronic devices can keep prices down by combining a careful product design strategy with judicious outsourcing.

MEDICAL IMAGING

Using FPGAs to Implement New Medical Imaging Capabilities
Charles Jenkins

Field-programmable gate arrays provide data acquisition and coprocessing support for scalable cpu platforms, making more-sophisticated imaging possible.

PROCESSORS

The Convergent Processor in Multimedia-Product Design
David Katz and Rick Gentile

A device that combines control and signal-processing functionality in a unified architecture can speed product development—and time to market.

INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Borrowing from Ultraportable Consumer Products for Medical Electronics Design
Edmund H. Suckow

Analog switch technology and the USB port are among new options that can improve the capabilities and ease of use of small patient monitors.

GUIDE TO DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES

Introduction

High-Luminance Liquid-Crystal Displays
Dale H. Maunu

Ambient-Light Sensing
Ray King

Vacuum Fluorescent Display Technology
Albert Smith

Tactile Feedback for Touch Screens
Michael D. Levin