The Importance of Medical PCBs with Their Appropriate Design

In the serious and highly advanced medical field, high quality and reliability is the topmost priority – clients need the most reliable and technologically advanced solutions. One of the most integral roles in the field of medical equipment is the medical PCB that can be seen almost everywhere in laboratories, hospitals, research along with different related fields.

To have the right printed circuit boards, you’ll have to know the ins and outs of such PCBs.

Therefore, the guide begins by getting in depth of the medical PCB board, prior to knowing about its benefits. Thereafter, we’re also going to look at fabrication and design of medical PCBs.

Defining Medical PCB board

The chiefly sensitive medical sector deals with the precious human life. The sensitivity levels show that facilities and equipment usable in the sector have certain characteristics, first one being the precision.

Therefore, medical PCBs are printed circuit boards designed specifically for having medical facilities and equipment. All these PCBs hence have been specialized for different lab settings and care for being reliable in varied test scenarios.

Various medical machines and equipment made through these PCBs are heart monitors, blood glucose monitors, and X-ray computed tomography.

Other devices include blood pressure monitors, heart pacemakers, etc.

PCB Application in Medical Field

Main areas of the PCB use include:

Body temperature and Blood Glucose Monitoring: Examples are heart rate monitors, blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors, etc. Control Systems: the systems include equipment for controlling dispensation and flow rate, fluid infusion. Scanning: Ultrasonic technology and CT scanners are designed through PCBs

Internal Medical Devices: These devices are implanted in patient’s body due to certain medical conditions. For example, the Heart Pacemakers are run through minuscule PCBs.

On other hand Worn Medical devices are usable in monitoring health of a patient. Some examples are:

Scientific Instrumentation: The instruments are meant for studying disease trends and testing patient outcomes. Some examples are photometers, microscopes and compressor and generator control systems. Wireless form of communication: Walkie Talkies and instant messaging apps are effective communication forms nowadays.

Medical PCB importance and Benefits

As already mentioned, the medical PCB board is ideal in the manufacture process of electronic equipment and devices in medical use.

In this regard, all these equipment sets and devices made through PCBs benefited medical field in different ways like:

Getting Electronic Health Records – Since long, lacking integration was serious cause of slowness in the delivery of medical service. Various patients have died as taking records from a section to another takes long time. However, patient care notably improved within the recent decades due to PCB technology.

Now speed and efficiency in the service delivery are present because of simple information flow.

Medicine that is Data Driven – The drug design is typically based on data of a certain type of population. Simplicity in technology enables assembling of this data leading to quicker and better development of such medicines. Different equipment that made this possible use special PCBs.

The Mobile Health – Nowadays, smartphones and iPads made is quite simple for the specialists in medical field to receive and transmit information freely. Also, it made ordering drugs quite simple and also it is vital in the medical research and documentation right away.

Wireless Communication – Nowadays the medical field has systems ideal for conveying secure information and alerts quite similar to the lab tests. These typically make use of smartphones, clinical based special systems or web applications.

The improvement is great considering earlier inconvenience that was present for passing critical information.

It is quite common to see medical staff using apps for instant messaging along with walkie talkies. This can be said a positive departure through overhead PA systems and pager use.

All these are outcomes of advanced PCB development for refining communication systems in the health and medical sector.

Wearables for Medical Use – Nowadays, modern worn devices are there for helping monitor important information about patients. For football sport, players wear trackers for tracking, information such as the heart rate of players. With such information, it is possible to know whether a patient has infection or has the chances of an attack.

Design and Fabrication of Medical PCBs

Medical application PCBs need to get designed with considerations for the reliability, repeatability and quality. Besides, also they have to be traceable, strong and durable. Also, these are a few qualities that have to be taken in consideration on designing the PCBs.

Here is the breakdown of step-by-step medical PCB board design process:

Drawing initial Schematic

Here relevant information must be taken from client and it needs to be used for creating schematic drawing. The specifications are noted on one side. Some captured details can be medical PCB board type, power, and materials among various others. Absolute accuracy is required for all these.

Prepare Layout After Scanning

Next step would be to scan and then upload drawing in PCB designing software. Also begin adding requirements of the client onto one after the another.

Look upon Critical Factors

Certain vital factors are to be considered upon designing medical application PCBs. Some aspects are split planes, pin number component selection and split planes.

Proper Power Splitting

For reducing noise levels and crosstalk in PCB, there isn’t any requirement for electric power and ground planes diversification. There must be some higher Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNRs).

Various Ground Layers

Make various ground layers on PCB base. The layers help in minimizing SNR levels and noise. Also you get enhanced reliability and PCB performance.

Reviewing BOM

Components get checked for ascertaining that they bare required levels for tolerance. Both OEM and PCB designers must perform the BOM review together.

Checking Components

Confirm that you must use best components according to requirements.

Prepare Alternative Component List

Also, you must have the option of alternative component for using when chosen ones fail for meeting requirements. This also helps in saving spent time in PCB designing.

Checking Alternative Components

Just as done with selected components, check on alternate components to know their failure and success ratings.

Create Drawing for Assembly

It is ideal for avoiding assembly mistakes and fabrication. Make sure to take note of revision levels if changes are done in original design.

Make Sure to Indicate Test Points in Design

You need to identify and then indicate points where testing remains ideal for board. For reduction in the total error count, you can have as much as points for testing as possible.

Being among the most sophisticated industry nowadays, the sensitivity of the medical field is a lot about use of hi-tech medical electronic devices and to get the top-notch performance, all these devices and equipment should be available with highly advanced circuitry.

Due to this reason, the medical PCBs are most vital to get enhanced functionality in the sector, mainly in medical service delivery and research field. For achieving the best outcomes, make sure to adhere to strict standards for medical PCB board design and assembly stages.