The minimally invasive sensors have significantly helped doctors to treat several chronic diseases.
Miniature coils are the main component of these medical sensors. On the other hand, manufacturing of the miniaturized micro-coils involves the winding of ultra-fine wires. Therefore, the whole manufacturing process requires custom-made equipment and built in-house machinery. In this article, we will discuss the importance and applications of medical sensors. Besides discussing the areas where the medical sensors are required, this article will describe the manufacturing requirements of the medical sensors.
Why Medical Sensors are Important?
Medical sensors offer several facilities to the doctors, such as-
- Doctors can reach some inaccessible parts of our body that would be impossible without medical sensors.
- Sensors have substantial usages in cryo-cancer treatment to eliminate the tumors by freezing or heating them.
- Sensors help to reduce the disruption of the functions of the body.
- Medical sensors enhance the implant’s lifetime and consume less energy.
Application Areas of Medical Sensors:
Medical sensors are useful in several application areas, such as-
- Diagnostics: Miniature implants that involve sensors help to conduct wireless communications.
- Therapeutic Applications: In electrophysiological treatments and electricity-based ablations, sensors play a crucial role.
- Implants: For the preparation of active implants to control and monitor deep brain stimulation and pacemakers, sensors are essential.
- Temperature Measurement: Sensors are useful for the measurement of temperature using miniature thermocouples.
- Navigation: Sensors are effective for several navigation activities, such as stent positioning, targeted drug delivery, implanted markers,highly-accurate ablations, inter-body tagging, and targeted radiation catheters.
- Orthopedic Aids: Using electromagnetic pulses, medical sensors help to prepare the operating systems for orthopedic aids.
- Dental: Medical sensors have also effective applications in dental treatment.
Requirements for the Manufacturing Process:
As the main component of the medical sensor is the micro-coil, therefore, it is important to understand the requirements for the manufacturing of the medical sensors. The major manufacturing requirements for the micro-coils that are used in medical sensors are-
- Manufacturers require to manufacture the coils depending on the client’s predetermined specifications.
- Manufacturers should avoid any type of fault in the manufacturing process. The micro-coils must be manufactured following a very high standard and a strict range of quality checks.
- The manufacturing process should include special equipment. Therefore, the manufacturers should design and develop the machinery in-house according to the manufacturing specifications.
- Manufacturers should follow ISO 13485 during manufacturing and the clients should be allowed to inspect the whole process.
- In order to trace the raw material and find information regarding all types of quarries, the material traceability of the materials should be maintained.
Micro-Coils Manufacturing Process:
For the manufacturing of micro-coils, manufacturers require to use ultra-fine wires of about 8 microns in diameter. As the ultra-fine wires are 5 to 10 times thinner compared to human hair, handling these wires is not an easy task. For the preparation of medical sensors, ultra-fine wire connectivity and the winding process are essential. In order to connect the wires and have the most reliable connection, modern manufacturers rely on thermo-compression bonding technology. This technology also reduces the manufacturing costs of the micro-coils.
