Print
PDFTable of Contents
In the past two years, venture capital investment in the medical device industry has almost doubled to reach about $4 billion USD in 2007. Much of this funding goes to medical device start-up companies that provide new and innovative technology solutions to complex medical conditions. National Instruments hardware and software solutions are well suited for such applications for three primary reasons.
1. A significant number of “domain experts” – in this case physicians and biomedical engineers –focus on developing a treatment rather than complex technology solutions. With the tightly integrated hardware and software from National Instruments, they can focus on the scientific principles behind the treatment as opposed to the low-level implementation details.
2. A quick functional prototype can lead to the next round of venture funding for a medical device start-up. National Instruments is one of the few companies that provides a solution specifically designed for building rapid prototypes with a wide range of hardware and software features.
3. National Instruments is an industry leader in analog and PC-based measurements and provides some of the world’s most advanced data acquisition devices. The signals generated by the human body are often so small that this analog precision is a primary reason that companies choose National Instruments over other component providers.
Discover how three medical device start-up companies based their medical device technology on NI LabVIEW graphical system design software.
OptiMedica
OptiMedica Corporation helps ophthalmologists treat retinal disease, and has integrated graphical system design with commercial off-the-shelf technologies to develop their next-generation PASCAL Photocoagulator machine. PASCAL uses the LabVIEW FPGA Module and NI R Series intelligent DAQ to reduce treatment time and patient discomfort.
Figure 1. The PASCAL Photocoagulator from OptiMedica was prototyped and deployed using LabVIEW and LabVIEW FPGA on a NI R Series intelligent DAQ device.
OptiMedica design team members were experienced LabVIEW users who decided to use the LabVIEW FPGA Module and an NI R Series intelligent DAQ device instead of a custom hardware solution for the PASCAL Photocoagulator. The hardware determinism of the NI PCI-7833R multifunction DAQ device allows for faster retinal scanning, significantly reducing the number of office visits for the patient. With a single graphical development platform, the team was able to design and prototype the machine quickly and efficiently using customizable off-the-shelf PXI hardware, and successfully demonstrate the system to potential investors. Using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) in this application provided the reliability of a hardware solution and eased the path to obtaining FDA validation. The decision to use programmable silicon as opposed to a fixed ASIC chip also reduced development time by 30 percent.
Sanarus Medical
Sanarus, a medical device start-up company, has developed a revolutionary product called the Visica 2 Treatment System (VTS) that could change the way doctors treat benign tumors. The device helps doctors treat tumors by freezing and removing tumors in a painless, outpatient procedure – a dramatic contrast from in-patient surgical solutions. The device freezes and destroys targeted tissue through an incision so small that it does not require stitches.
Figure 2. The Visica 2 from Sanarus Medical was prototyped and deployed using LabVIEW and the CompactRIO embedded platform.
To meet the products release schedule, Sanarus needed to develop a working prototype of the VTS within four months. Writing firmware and designing a custom controller board for the device would be highly time-consuming. Delay could threaten the entire project and potentially lead to problems obtaining FDA validation for the system. If the device failed the strenuous 510(k) submission process, the entire project would fail and the VTS would not make it to market.
Sanarus decided that NI CompactRIO was a viable solution for their needs because of its mix of programmability and integrated I/O capabilities. When the UI specifications changed to be a touch panel PC instead of buttons and LEDs, Sanarus was able to use LabVIEW for Windows to develop a UI for an off-the-shelf PanelPC and manage communications between the GUI and the CompactRIO real-time controller using LabVIEW shared variables. In the end, Sanarus was able to meet the new feature requests without causing delays in the development schedule.
Fluidnet
According to Fluidnet, nurses report that 15 to 60 percent of their time is consumed supporting IV therapy-related issues. Using the NI LabVIEW Embedded Module for ADI Blackfin Processors, Fluidnet and Boston Engineering developed a family of simple-to-use infusion devices to address this drain on nursing resources. Their new infusion devices are more accurate and safer, and they offer a wider flow-rate range while delivering continuous flow – all at a significantly lower price than existing infusion devices.
At the heart of this device was LabVIEW, implementing the firmware for the primary controller. Fluidnet took advantage of the LabVIEW platform to design the first closed-loop control infusion system with proprietary real-time flow and automatic volume sensing capabilities. The company performed “algorithm engineering” on a desktop PC, using National Instruments data acquisition (DAQ) devices for analog I/O. When it came time for deployment into the final form factor, Fluidnet turned to the Boston Engineering FlexStack – a tiny, rugged deployment platform that combines the flexibility of LabVIEW embedded technology with the power of the ADI Blackfin Processor. With this platform, Fluidnet reused a significant amount of code developed in the design phase while shrinking the device size to a 2.5 by 2.5 inch footprint. Because the Blackfin Processor has extensive power management features, Fluidnet delivered a two-week run time on off-the-shelf, rechargeable batteries.
Figure 3. This infusion pump from Fluidnet was prototyped using LabVIEW software and DAQ devices and deployed using the LabVIEW Embedded Module for ADI Blackfin Processors.
Fluidnet added other features to increase the usability and usefulness of the pump. For example, radio frequency identification (RFID) labels instantly recognize the medicine, providing pharmacy-to-bedside pump programming and audit trails. Nurses can remotely monitor and alter the pump operation via Bluetooth. Also, a low-power electronic ink display provides a near-powerless user interface.
Learn more about these and other medical devices developed with LabVIEW.
P. J. Tanzillo is the LabVIEW Embedded Product Manager at National Instruments. He holds a bachelor of science in electrical and computer engineering from the Ohio State University.
Reader Comments | Submit a comment »
Legal
This tutorial (this "tutorial") was developed by National Instruments ("NI"). Although technical support of this tutorial may be made available by National Instruments, the content in this tutorial may not be completely tested and verified, and NI does not guarantee its quality in any way or that NI will continue to support this content with each new revision of related products and drivers. THIS TUTORIAL IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND AND SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS AS MORE SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH IN NI.COM'S TERMS OF USE (http://ni.com/legal/termsofuse/unitedstates/us/).