Tackling MedTech challenges with Molex

With today’s growing global population as well as increasing life expectancy, an increasing number of people need access to effective healthcare. Also, with advancing medical science, a greater number of conditions can be identified and treated, which adds to demands for services. Providers need solutions to the challenges of providing high-quality services that are both affordable for consumers and cost-effective for suppliers.

The medical technology (MedTech) industry has a crucial role in making this happen. Price and profitability pressures are expected to intensify demand in MedTech segments such as personal diagnostics and monitoring, preventative healthcare, medication maintenance, infection control, high-end therapeutic devices, and capital equipment.

Connectivity is a key ingredient in emerging generations of advanced medical devices and brings several important advantages. Remote delivery of services enhances efficiency and enables specialists to help greater numbers of patients within a given time period. Patients, generally, are becoming more accepting that a specialist does not have to be physically present for a patient to benefit from advanced healthcare.

Moreover, the ability to communicate with other devices and systems while quickly transferring large amounts of data is also crucial for connecting delivery systems, devices, clinicians, care managers and even payors to optimise care across the patient journey. In addition, devices such as personal medical monitors can be made smaller and more affordable by connecting to a smartphone (Figure 1) to take advantage of the high-value features available.

These features  may include the display and Bluetooth^® LE to enable initial setup and local monitoring, additional inertial- and temperature-sensing capabilities, and the cellular connection to share data with the care provider’s servers. For instance, an insulin pump can utilise the smartphone’s network connection to inform the care coordinator whenever the patient’s insulin level has been unusual, suggesting that extra care is warranted. 

Figure 1. Smartphones can connect patients’ devices to care specialists
 

Improving care through connectivity

The global market for network-connected medical devices including patient monitoring devices, insulin pumps, infusion pumps, dialysis machines, defibrillators, smart hospital beds, CT scanners, x-ray imaging systems, and CPAP machines was valued at $20 billion in 2018 and continues to grow despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governments and healthcare providers can benefit from the cost savings that connected technologies can offer, which can go hand in hand with improving services and patient outcomes. An example is the executive order announced in the US in 2019 that includes incentives to promote in-home kidney dialysis, which could shift care delivery away from in-centre services delivered by a small number of for-profit companies.

Clearly, connected healthcare provides new opportunities for technology companies, provided they can deal with the regulatory challenges associated with such as safety and privacy. They must also ensure the robust design, engineering, and performance of their internal electronic components.

Choosing the right component-supply partner is a good place to start, particularly for items such as cable assemblies that are needed to ensure reliable connectivity. Moreover, value-added supplier services such as customisation of cable assemblies (Figure 2), or specially modifying off-the-shelf assemblies, can enhance performance and reliability as well as creating differentiating features that enable devices to stand out among commoditised, competing products.

Figure 2. A custom cable assembly can differentiate products from those of competitors
 

The right supply partners

Avnet Abacus, through its partnership with Molex, is able to offer cable assemblies that are specially designed for medical applications, as well as general-purpose connectivity such as high-power cable assemblies, sensor cable assemblies, and proprietary, off-the-shelf assemblies. Our combined experiences gained developing products for demanding applications in transportation, IT, data centres, home appliances, and mobile devices bring the added advantage of cross-industry insights that can help quickly solve design challenges encountered when developing new MedTech products.

Of course, specific regulatory know-how is needed to assist in ensuring that new products comply with applicable medical legislation. Equipment approval processes are often lengthy, and changes are usually ongoing in territories such as Europe, the US, and Asia, which typically lead demands for advanced technical solutions to healthcare challenges.

Product developers can cut their development costs and accelerate time to market by taking proper account of regulation at an early stage. Teaming with suitable suppliers and consultants can help with issues such as interpreting the regulatory language around issues such as efficacy and safety, the timelines for enforcement, and other exacting challenges such as testing and documentation requirements.

It’s also important to note that regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is extending its approvals and oversights into supply chains. Increasingly, these are subjected to rigorous quality standards and audits. The FDA purchasing controls section 820.50 places the burden of supplier regulatory compliance on medical-device manufacturers. Now, more than ever, it is essential for technology developers to choose reputable suppliers that can provide quality products that are supported by the right documentation.

Suppliers should also have processes in place to overcome potential disruptions to the supply chain. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how fragile supply chains can be, particularly if they are designed to prioritise cost-savings over robustness and reliability. Working with suppliers such as Molex, Avnet Abacus can establish clear contingency plans to ensure continuous supply even in exceptional circumstances.

Find out more about Molex's connectivity solutions for MedTech, or if you want to discuss your specific design requirements in detail, get in touch with our technical specialists in your local language.