Meeting Medtech Motion Control Demands

If you’re engineering medical devices these days, chances are you’re looking for solutions that support miniaturization and increase performance.

“A key trend in medical devices is miniaturization,” Dave Beckstoffer, Portescap’s senior industry manager, tells Design News. “Being able to reduce the overall architecture enables greater freedom for patients and medical professionals.”

And “a second key trend is performance as devices are continually being asked to execute more challenging tasks. Many medical devices, especially cardiovascular ones, require a motion control system that can achieve quite high speeds and torques,” he says.

Portescap will be showcasing its expertise in medtech motion control solutions at the upcoming MD&M Minneapolis 2024 October 16-17. The company offers brushless DC motors for cardiovascular applications; frameless motors for surgical robotics; and a Surgical Motion Solutions portfolio of motors, gearheads, encoders, and controllers that can be designed to endure 3,000+ autoclave cycles. 

How to go smaller for miniaturization

Miniaturizing a medical device “starts with understanding the critical device output requirements and folding those back to the motion control system," Beckstoffer explains. “It is key to tie the footprint of the motion control to the optimal device layout.

“For example, designs can reduce the diameter of the system to accommodate a smaller device height, but the system length will grow.  Alternately, a larger diameter system with shorter length can be customized for a handheld device,” he says.

When the Portescap team first sits down with medtech design engineers, the initial discussion focuses on the end user and market requirements as well as device features and benefits, Beckstoffer explains. “The discussion includes a review of the various motion control system options, culminating in a design path that includes standard product options for initial prototypes up to customized solutions for the final product,” he says.

How to go big on performance 

As mentioned earlier, many new devices are expected to offer heightened performance. Design engineers will need to identify components that can handle higher speeds and torque. 

“With operation at high speeds and torques, temperature rise can be a concern since the device may be held by the medical professional,” says Beckstoffer. “Portescap’s Ultra EC brushless DC platform, with its proprietary U-coil design, has designs optimized for speed, torque, or a combination of both. The slotless design reduces iron losses, providing a slower temperature rise and reaching an acceptable steady state temperature during continuous operation. The Ultra EC line has a breadth of diameters and lengths available, enabling engineering collaboration to select the ideal mechanical configuration together with the optimal performance.”

Moving toward the right motion control solution for your medical device

There's a lot of design and engineering support available for medical device design engineers. MD&M Minneapolis 2024 will feature several sessions on medical device R&D and quality. Be sure to visit Portescap at Booth 2614 and check out other resources here.

“Designing a medical device can seem daunting but working with motion control experts results in a device tailored to the patient and to the medical professional needs,” concludes Beckstoffer.

Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) Minneapolis is part of Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis, which will be held October 16-17, 2024, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The event also features the co-located shows MinnPack, Automation Technology Expo (ATX) Minneapolis, Design & Manufacturing (D&M), and Plastec Minneapolis.