On the radio I heard about a device that several students at Rice created to help diagnose anemia in the developing world. The device acts as a centrifuge to separate the blood into red blood cells and plasma in just 10 minutes and without the use of electricity.
Whether to build a custom product or go with something off the shelf can be a tough decision. There are several factors to consider when shopping for off-the-shelf solutions, and cost is only one of them.
Recently, I published an article in MicroManufacturing Magazine about the challenges of designing microparts for manufacture. Not unlike any collaborative process, good communication is the key to a successful project.
The success of a new product, no matter how complex or innovative the technology involved, is directly tied to a lot of factors that have much less to do with science and much more to do with everything else.
Designing medical devices can be an expensive undertaking. It can cost thousands of dollars for a traditional setup to make microfluidic chips or a centrifuge to isolate the components of a multi-constituent sample. Luckily, the creative minds that are focused on solving complex, technical problems don’t stop working when there’s a tight budget.
Flash memory is becoming increasingly popular in portable devices as the main storage medium. Flash memory offers advantages such as a serial interface, fast access time (compared to hard drives), and low power consumption, making them a popular choice for embedded medical devices.
Mechanical Engineering Magazine has a good article for designers about significantly lowering the overall energy impact of our products, based on the vision of Saul Griffith, a mechanical engineer and serial inventor. The good news is that we don’t have to start creating medical devices from bamboo.
Further advances in microfluidics technology development will educe the most profound breakthroughs in medical diagnostic and therapeutic devices — and ultimately improve patient care.
