Key trends across the development of MedTech devices

The healthcare industry is facing a unique combination of challenges over the coming decades. The global population continues to grow whilst the average age of patients is rising. Projections show that more than 20% of the global population will be over the age of 60 by 2050, and with it will grow the demand for healthcare.

With this aging population comes a need for the medical profession to look beyond the safe conditions of the operating room and the hospital. Many patients can now receive treatment in other environments, whether in the doctor’s office, a health centre or even in their own home. This is especially true for patients who require long-term care. The medical technology, or MedTech, needed must be designed to provide reliability even whilst being used far from the confines of the hospital.

This is not a new trend. For many years, healthcare professionals have made visits into patients’ homes with equipment that is portable to allow easy use but also robust enough to cope with frequent use. Designers have always been forced to take this into account when creating the latest medical devices. 

Connected devices

In addition to these traditional applications, the medical industry is taking advantage of the latest machine-to-machine communication that is at the heart of the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT allows devices to share data with each other and has reached a new level of sophistication with the recent introduction of the 5G wireless network. The ability to monitor and treat patients remotely is having several positive effects for the medical industry. Enabling patients to stay in the comfort of their own home improves the effectiveness of their treatment, as well as reducing the need for expensive hospital services.

Beyond traditional monitoring and treatment, advances in the field of wearable technology are freeing some patients from the need to attend clinics at all, allowing them to continue with their daily lives. Developments in treatment technology such as nebulisers and insulin delivery systems allow patients to receive full medical care while healthcare professionals can use the 5G telecommunications network to constantly monitor their condition remotely.

Much of the equipment that is now available to the medical industry has little in common with the large and cumbersome machines found in hospitals. With the increasing use of miniaturised devices, designers have been able to benefit from solutions developed for the smartphone industry. Not only can they incorporate the latest components including batteries and connectors, but the touchscreen technology of the smartphone is also providing patients and medical professionals with user interfaces that are both familiar and intuitive.

Remotely delivered care will require careful navigation through the topic of data security. With much of the latest medical equipment transmitting health data via wireless networks, designers will need to be aware of the new layers of regulation surrounding personal privacy. 

Growing smaller

Connector products used in these compact devices need to feature small size and low mass to enable designers to take advantage of the latest technologies. Flexible Flat Cables (FFC) and Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC) provide lightweight, low-profile solutions while delivering reliable and high-speed performance. Molex offers a range of FFC and FPC solutions that are ideal for miniaturised devices. In addition, the data-driven demands of the latest 5G-enabled technology require connectors that can ensure high-speed communications even in the smallest devices. 

Molex Quad-Row Board-to-Board Connectors deliver up to 36 contacts in a package that is just 3.2mm in length and 0.6mm high. It achieves this small size in a deceptively simple way by employing 4 rows of contacts on a 0.35mm pitch and staggering each row to produce an effective pitch of just 0.175mm. The result is more manageable footprint for the PCB designer, and greater tolerance during manufacture. The power element at each end of the connector can deliver up to 3Amps of current at 50volts, and provides the mechanical strength to make Quad-Row a practical solution in demanding medical applications.

Fortunately, designers of medical devices can take advantage of cross-industry expertise by choosing partners who have knowledge of other markets, such as IT, data centres and consumer devices. Molex provides complete connectivity solutions for the MedTech industry, backed by a robust and efficient supply chain of a global distributor like Avnet Abacus. 

The MedTech industry is growing, driven both by market factors and the unprecedented effects of a global pandemic. With Avnet Abacus and Molex as your design partners, you will be well placed to embrace the technology that is powering the medical devices of tomorrow. 

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