Coupling Light from LEDs and Light Guides in Medical Devices
Moulded plastic light guides are an inexpensive means to “pipe” light around inside a medical device. Their design process makes light guides amenable to a variety of shapes and sizes. Applications...
View ArticleStrategies to Maximize Medical Device Optical Signals
A common challenge when designing medical devices that make optical measurements is ensuring the optical system state remains correlated with sensor measurements in order to maximize medical device...
View ArticleOptical Safety for Ophthalmic Instruments
This blog covers the optical safety limits and maximum exposure limits of wavelengths in the IR, UV and visible light spectrum for ophthalmic instruments. Optical safety for ophthalmic instruments...
View ArticleChoosing a Medical Device Camera Sensor
Medical Device Camera Sensor Resolution and Pixel Size Camera sensors are key components of video microscopes and endoscopes, fluorescence imagers, X-ray detectors, multiplexed detectors (i.e....
View ArticleWhat Does the Ideal Medtech Co-Op Look Like?
StarFish Medical hires many engineering students for medtech co-op positions in our product design department. A question I get asked a lot is: “what does the ideal medtech co-op look like to you?” The...
View Article3D Printed Parts Streamline Development Process
This blog provides a context for designers to streamline their development process using 3D printed parts as a part of their market-ready medical devices. 3D printing is disruptive. It challenges the...
View ArticlePathways to a FDA Approved or Cleared Medical Device
Chutes and Ladders – Commercializing your medical device in the US market requires submitting marketing applications to the FDA to become an FDA Approved or Cleared Medical Device. The content of your...
View ArticleDesigning BLDC motor drive electronics
Brushless, direct current (BLDC) motors are one of the options for motion control solutions in medical device development. BLDC motors typically offer higher power, higher efficiency, and lower wear...
View ArticleWhat Will You Do First When COVID is Under Control?
Summer is (almost) officially here. Vaccinations are up and lock downs are loosening as regions reach herd immunity levels. We’ve been working remotely for over a year, so it seemed like a good time to...
View ArticleFive Applications Using Microfluidic Machine Learning
Microfluidics is a powerful tool on its own, but over the past years, the combination of microfluidics and Machine Learning (ML) has enabled microfluidic technologies to push into new areas and...
View ArticleFive Critical Considerations in Designing Microfluidic Cartridges
Developing microfluidic devices can be a daunting task not unlike the development of other medical or in-vitro diagnostic devices. Development typically arises from the need to miniaturize and automate...
View ArticleMicrofluidic Optics in Diagnostic Platforms
This blog discusses implementation of optics in microfluidics systems including: Ways that lenses can be implemented on microfluidic cartridges; an overview of optical detection techniques used in...
View ArticleDeveloping a Diagnostic Product for Use Outside a Laboratory
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased diagnostic testing outside the confinement of the laboratory. The hope is to enable healthcare professionals to perform testing in places where it was previously...
View ArticleReturning to Work Safely During COVID
I think it’s safe to say that returning to work is going to look very different in a post-pandemic life. Or what we are now calling the ‘new normal’. Many of us are now used to working in our pajamas...
View ArticleFive Considerations for Successful Onboarding
Ensuring new hires feel connected to the team and engaged in their position is critical. So much has changed since moving to remote work, including the onboarding process. Don’t be fooled; the initial...
View ArticleHow to Use xFMEA as a Brainstorming Tool
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Brainstorm may sound like an oxymoron to some, but application of Systems Engineering tailoring to the rigorous FMEA process has uncovered a powerful...
View ArticleThree Physical Connection Methods in Medical Device Test Fixtures
Physical testing is an essential tool for product development, particularly when developing a novel medical device. When well designed, a physical test can accurately represent phenomena that are...
View ArticleHow to Perform Medical Device Drop Test
Medical Device Drop Test Per IEC 60601-1 Ed 3.2 Clause 15.3.4 Medical Device Drop Test and Push Test are part of IEC 60601-1. This blog describes two of the most common mechanical tests that medical...
View ArticleUpdate on Health Canada Activities and Changes
Keeping current with Health Canada’s medical device regulatory developments Over the course of the last year and a half, the number of accomplishments that Health Canada has achieved both in urgent...
View ArticleCleanroom Validation Testing for Medical Device Manufacturing
This blog provides an overview of Medical Device Manufacturing Cleanrooms and draws upon our experience validating our Class 7 Cleanroom. A highly regulated environment, like that of a ISO 13485:2016...
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