Designers of Things Session Explores 'Digi-Med' Testing

Digital healthcare devices and wearable electronic products need to be thoroughly tested, lest they live short, ignominious lives, an expert will tell attendees at UBM's upcoming Designers of Things conference in San Jose, Calif.

"In digital healthcare, every single component within an eco-system needs to be tested," Sanket Mehta, account manager for Internet of Things and emerging technologies for InfoStretch Solutions Ltd., recently told Design News. "Companies in this space do not have a large margin for error. One small mistake and their product will be discarded."

At the conference, Mehta will present a case study on ingestible sensors. The study will highlight the need for end-to-end test procedures -- not just on the sensor itself, but also on the wearable patches, Bluetooth technology, mobile apps, and even the servers that are employed in such "digi-med" applications.

"The point is, you're not just testing a product," Mehta told us. "You're testing an eco-system. All the components in the eco-system are equally important."

Mehta, whose engineering expertise is in biomedical instrumentation, will draw on InfoStretch's experience in developing mobile applications and providing quality assurance services for digital design ventures. Too often, he said, designers tend to overestimate the look and feel of the product, while underestimating the functionality, regulatory and compliance aspects.

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"There's a proliferation of wearable devices on the market today," he said. "But often, because those devices haven't been tested well, they wither away and die a natural death."

He added that thorough testing procedures are especially important for so-called digi-meds, which involve encapsulating a sensor in a pill. Pharmaceutical companies are paying particular attention to such products because they enable doctors to know how medicines are working, or whether patients are forgetting to take their pills. By having such information at their fingertips, insurers can cut costs, which is why they are now pouring billions of dollars into the technology.

"Our message is that this is a product that involves a lot of regulatory and compliance aspects," Mehta said. "If it's not tested well, it will never be a success, no matter how well it is designed."

The 45-minute session, "Going Beyond Wearables: Ingestible Sensors," will take place at UBM's Designers of Things on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 3:30 p.m. at the San Jose Convention Center.

About Designers of Things

Designers of Things is a new conference produced by UBM that is dedicated to the revolutionary potential of Wearable Tech, 3D Printing, the Internet of Things (IoT), the business strategies and inventive people behind these technologies, and how they can successfully accelerate innovation to take their inspirations to the next level. Through in-depth educational programs, ground-breaking technology demonstrations, and unmatched networking opportunities, Designers of Things offers one of the most comprehensive and impactful meeting places for the technology design and development communities in the world. The Designers of Things event will take place at the BIOMEDevice event in San Jose, Calif., Dec. 2-3. For more information, follow us on Twitter at @DoThingsCon

Senior technical editor Chuck Murray has been writing about technology for 31 years. He joined Design News in 1987, and has covered electronics, automation, fluid power, and autos.

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