Trends in healthcare, consumer electronics, and solar power are pushing the development of miniaturized designs, placing constraints on the materials used to make these products. As photovoltaic solar junction boxes and connectors shed weight, consumer electronics shrink, and healthcare devices become wearable or swallowable, new materials for systems and components must be found.
Healthcare is one of the main industries pushing innovation in miniaturized designs, and several trends are driving this. They include space crunches in hospitals and the shift to minimally invasive surgery, as well as a shift toward patients receiving healthcare at specialty care centers and at home.
Solar panel frames (1) are getting lighter, and the electrical junction boxes (2) and connectors (3) that carry the electrical current they generate are getting smaller, aided by plastics with low-temperature impact resistance that meet electrical and flame retardancy requirements. (Source: SABIC Innovative Plastics)
In hospitals, an increase in minimally invasive surgeries is helping reduce trauma to patients and shorten recovery times. This has led to a need for smaller, more precise surgical instruments. "Plastic devices are replacing older metal devices but still need to have the same or better functionality to ensure safety," Scott Fallon, general manager of global specialty products for for SABIC Innovative Plastics, told us. "In some cases, functionality such as lubricity, shielding, anti-static, and anti-microbial properties can be added."
The hospital space crunch is shifting the site of care toward the growing number of specialty care centers, resulting in a need to downsize larger hospital equipment. Fallon said:
For example, CT scanners previously tended to be the size of a large SUV. But with plastic, those units are now much smaller, opening up opportunities for use in smaller care centers and hospitals with limited space.
Other types of medical equipment are becoming portable, such as handheld MRIs in place of stationary units. These are especially well-suited for use by the military or in world regions where care centers are not available in every city.
Some medical devices are becoming extremely tiny, such as the Mermaid swallowable endoscope jointly devised by Japan's Ryukoku University and Osaka Medical College. The self-propelled, remote-controlled capsule, which measures around 1cm in diameter and 4.5cm in length, scans the digestive tract for signs of cancer and other diseases. Propelled by its tail fin, which is electromagnetically stimulated from outside the patient's body, its position and direction can be controlled by an operator with a joystick.
Some of the most interesting and fun applications I found during reporting this story were the small health monitoring devices. For example, you can see pictures of the Japanese swallowable endoscope in use, both outside and inside the body, here: http://sanfrancisco.ibtimes.com/articles/170187/20110627/japanese-scientists-invent-mermaid-tiny-remote-controlled-pill-camera-examine-digestive-tract.htm and a video of one from the University of Washington here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlQN3c04mu0
This endoscope is amazing technology. It reminds me of the movie Innerspace, but the difference is that the minature endoscope is real and not science fiction. Great and informative article.
Thanks, Tim. Interestingly, the Japanese version is not the only swallowable endoscope. There are several different models. senya, thanks for catching that editing glitch--it should have said "one lead, not three." The Zio in fact uses two electrodes.
A few years ago, I wrote a trend report titled "Smaller, Faster, Better" highlighting not only nano and micro technologies but also a general sizing down across the board. A striking number of experts dismissed it as irrelevant for the American market. I love having articles like this that back up my trend reports with current information. Thank you!
I'd love to see the process 3M and IBM are developing in action. It sounds amazing. It's good to see 3M in new areas.
Nadine, you are welcome. Since "smaller, faster, better" is an ongoing trend cluster in electronics over the last several decades--both at the board level and the system level--I'm surprised that anyone would dismiss this idea. What about the American market was seen as unusual in this context?
Everyone seemed to recognize the concept for electronics easily. I pointed out that their cell phones are more powerful than their first PCs. But, they didn't get that it was also relevant for other areas such as autos, housing and urban-planning. I pointed out the popularity of the Mini, not only as an efficient city car but as great unisex design. It was dismissed as a fluke.
All you can do is stand by your work and wait for others to see it too.
Thanks for that clarification and context. I see what you mean. Autos certainly, but only to a point, since many Americans are taller/larger than people elsewhere. Housing I've also heard about, but smaller living spaces, except for seniors, generally does meet with a lot of resistance among American consumers. The one I don't get is urban planning: what aspect of that is or could get smaller?
Ann-for years moving to the suburbs was seen as a sign of upward mobility. That lead to the ex-urbs and an increasing need for private-cars to commute to work or shopping centers.
Today, partly because of the sustainability movement, the city is popular again. People want to live, work and shop within walking distance, or at least a short ride on public transit. Urban planners have been consulting with trend forecasters lately to help them understand this new dynamic. Neighbourhoods are coming back.
In autos, smaller cars like the Mini or Prius have a deceptive amount of interior space for those who need it vertically or horizontally. Yet, they're shorter and, easier to park, than most sedans on the roads in the US.
I am wondering about iRhythm Technologies approach (page 2) to use 1 electrode to acquire ECG. For an electrical signal to exist (unless the device is catching electrons) 2 terminals must be provided. The picture itself shows 2 electrodes, or to make this claim accurate, it shows 2 electrically connected terminals
It's not just electronics either. My employer is a supplier of absorbent media that goes into rapid diagnostic lateral flow devices. Think pregnancy test. Most have a minimum of 5 different materials within the case. And there is continued research to make tests that work for more and more pieces of information and with various bodily fluids. It takes an appropriate chemical treatment and combination of materials for the tests to work effectively.
Inspired by the hooks a parasitic worm uses to penetrate its host's intestines, the Karp Lab has invented a flexible adhesive patch covered with microneedles that adheres well to wet, soft tissues, but doesn't cause damage when removed.
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego are designing a robotic arm that takes inspiration from the loose, flexible, yet very strong structure of the armored plates on a seahorse's tail.
Researchers at the Missouri University of Science & Technology have designed a new nanoscale material that can transmit light faster than the 186,000 miles per second it usually takes to travel through air.
It has often been said that as California goes, so goes the nation. This spring, the state's wind power is setting energy generation records and solar energy generation is expected to rise sharply during the second half of 2013.
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