Component Specifications for Medical Products

Co-leader: Diganta Das (CALCE-UMD)

Co-leader: Peter Lampacher (Vibrant MED-EL)

Final Report: Component Specifications for Medical Products (October 2014)

Component Specifications for Medical Products:  Webinar on Task 1 - Outcome: Industry Survey (January 29, 2013)

There are no medical industry specifications for the qualification of components or their suppliers. Thus every component that is purchased for high-reliability medical products today must be individually qualified.

 

This situation increases costs for component manufacturers since every medical device OEM can have different requirements. This high cost of business can make the component manufacturers unresponsive to the medical device market. The lack of standard specifications thus adds time and cost to the introduction of new components, new technologies and, ultimately, new products.

 

This project will define a set of component-level reliability qualification methods (screens and tests) for electronic components used in implantable and wearable medical devices. The goal is to develop specifications that can be accepted by device OEMs as well as supported by component suppliers. These tests and screens will be identified from relevant existing test methodologies and standards available in the electronics industry at large.

The primary purpose of the project will be to develop a method for developing a test and screen matrix for electronic components that can be used to qualify the reliability performance of components for implantable and wearable electronic medical devices. These tests and screens will be identified from relevant existing tests methodologies and standards available in the electronics industry at large. The goal is to develop specifications that can be accepted by device OEMs as well as supported by component suppliers.

 

This project will result in an industry-standard reliability method that can be implemented by medical device manufacturers within their component management processes. In those cases when critical defects and failure mechanisms or test methodologies are already known, the implementation process will be easier. For those situations in which the failure mechanisms or test methodologies are not known, this project will be part of a more complex solution.

Presentation: organizational webinar (February 9, 2012)

Grace O'Malley

+353 87 9040 363