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Intro to reed switches, magnets, magnetic fields

This brief introductory video on the DigiKey site offers tips for engineers designing with reed switches. Dr. Stephen Day, Ph.D. from Coto Technology gives a solid overview on reed switches -- complete with real-world application examples -- and a detailed explanation of how they react to magnetic fields.
View the video.

Bi-color LEDs to light up your designs

Created with engineers and OEMs in mind, SpectraBright Series SMD RGB and Bi-Color LEDs from Visual Communi-cations Company (VCC) deliver efficiency, design flexibility, and control for devices in a range of industries, including mil-aero, automated guided vehicles, EV charging stations, industrial, telecom, IoT/smart home, and medical. These 50,000-hr bi-color and RGB options save money and space on the HMI, communicating two or three operating modes in a single component.
Learn more.

All about slip rings: How they work and their uses

Rotary Systems has put together a really nice basic primer on slip rings -- electrical collectors that carry a current from a stationary wire into a rotating device. Common uses are for power, proximity switches, strain gauges, video, and Ethernet signal transmission. This introduction also covers how to specify, assembly types, and interface requirements. Rotary Systems also manufactures rotary unions for fluid applications.
Read the overview.

Seifert thermoelectric coolers from AutomationDirect

Automation-Direct has added new high-quality and efficient stainless steel Seifert 340 BTU/H thermoelectric coolers with 120-V and 230-V power options. Thermoelectric coolers from Seifert use the Peltier Effect to create a temperature difference between the internal and ambient heat sinks, making internal air cooler while dissipating heat into the external environment. Fans assist the convective heat transfer from the heat sinks, which are optimized for maximum flow.
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EMI shielding honeycomb air vent panel design

Learn from the engineering experts at Parker how honeycomb air vent panels are used to help cool electronics with airflow while maintaining electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Topics include: design features, cell size and thickness, platings and coatings, and a stacked design called OMNI CELL construction. These vents can be incorporated into enclosures where EMI radiation and susceptibility is a concern or where heat dissipation is necessary. Lots of good info.
Read the Parker blog.

What is 3D-MID? Molded parts with integrated electronics from HARTING

3D-MID (three-dimensional mechatronic integrated devices) technology combines electronic and mechanical functionalities into a single, 3D component. It replaces the traditional printed circuit board and opens up many new opportunities. It takes injection-molded parts and uses laser-direct structuring to etch areas of conductor structures, which are filled with a copper plating process to create very precise electronic circuits. HARTING, the technology's developer, says it's "Like a PCB, but 3D." Tons of possibilities.
View the video.

Loss-free conversion of 3D/CAD data

CT CoreTech-nologie has further developed its state-of-the-art CAD converter 3D_Evolution and is now introducing native interfaces for reading Solidedge and writing Nx and Solidworks files. It supports a wide range of formats such as Catia, Nx, Creo, Solidworks, Solidedge, Inventor, Step, and Jt, facilitating smooth interoperability between different systems and collaboration for engineers and designers in development environments with different CAD systems.
Learn more.

Top 5 reasons for solder joint failure

Solder joint reliability is often a pain point in the design of an electronic system. According to Tyler Ferris at ANSYS, a wide variety of factors affect joint reliability, and any one of them can drastically reduce joint lifetime. Properly identifying and mitigating potential causes during the design and manufacturing process can prevent costly and difficult-to-solve problems later in a product lifecycle.
Read this informative ANSYS blog.

Advanced overtemp detection for EV battery packs

Littelfuse has introduced TTape, a ground-breaking over-temperature detection platform designed to transform the management of Li-ion battery systems. TTape helps vehicle systems monitor and manage premature cell aging effectively while reducing the risks associated with thermal runaway incidents. This solution is ideally suited for a wide range of applications, including automotive EV/HEVs, commercial vehicles, and energy storage systems.
Learn more.

Benchtop ionizer for hands-free static elimination

EXAIR's Varistat Benchtop Ionizer is the latest solution for neutralizing static on charged surfaces in industrial settings. Using ionizing technology, the Varistat provides a hands-free solution that requires no compressed air. Easily mounted on benchtops or machines, it is manually adjustable and perfect for processes needing comprehensive coverage such as part assembly, web cleaning, printing, and more.
Learn more.

LED light bars from AutomationDirect

Automation-Direct adds CCEA TRACK-ALPHA-PRO series LED light bars to expand their offering of industrial LED fixtures. Their rugged industrial-grade anodized aluminum construction makes TRACKALPHA-PRO ideal for use with medium to large-size industrial machine tools and for use in wet environments. These 120 VAC-rated, high-power LED lights provide intense, uniform lighting, with up to a 4,600-lumen output (100 lumens per watt). They come with a standard bracket mount that allows for angle adjustments. Optional TACLIP mounts (sold separately) provide for extra sturdy, vibration-resistant installations.
Learn more.

World's first metalens fisheye camera

2Pi Optics has begun commercial-ization of the first fisheye camera based on the company's proprietary metalens technology -- a breakthrough for electronics design engineers and product managers striving to miniaturize the tiny digital cameras used in advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), AR/VR, UAVs, robotics, and other industrial applications. This camera can operate at different wavelengths -- from visible, to near IR, to longer IR -- and is claimed to "outperform conventional refractive, wide-FOV optics in all areas: size, weight, performance, and cost."
Learn more.

Orbex offers two fiber optic rotary joint solutions

Orbex Group announces its 700 Series of fiber optic rotary joint (FORJ) assemblies, supporting either single or multi-mode operation ideal for high-speed digital transmission over long distances. Wavelengths available are 1,310 or 1,550 nm. Applications include marine cable reels, wind turbines, robotics, and high-def video transmission. Both options feature an outer diameter of 7 mm for installation in tight spaces. Construction includes a stainless steel housing.
Learn more.

Mini tunnel magneto-resistance effect sensors

Littelfuse has released its highly anticipated 54100 and 54140 mini Tunnel Magneto-Resistance (TMR) effect sensors, offering unmatched sensitivity and power efficiency. The key differentiator is their remarkable sensitivity and 100x improvement in power efficiency compared to Hall Effect sensors. They are well suited for applications in position and limit sensing, RPM measurement, brushless DC motor commutation, and more in various markets including appliances, home and building automation, and the industrial sectors.
Learn more.

Panasonic solar and EV components available from Newark

Newark has added Panasonic Industry's solar inverters and EV charging system components to their power portfolio. These best-in-class products help designers meet the growing global demand for sustainable and renewable energy mobility systems. Offerings include film capacitors, power inductors, anti-surge thick film chip resistors, graphite thermal interface materials, power relays, capacitors, and wireless modules.
Learn more.

Doctor, patient expectations differ on fitness and lifestyle tracking -- and what to do with all that data

University of Washington researchers found doctors lack the tools and capacity to interpret a deluge of fitness, food, and lifestyle data that patients are self-tracking. [Photo: Nicola, flickr]

 

 

By Jennifer Langston, University of Washington

With apps and activity trackers measuring every step people take, every morsel they eat, and each symptom or pain, patients commonly arrive at doctor's offices armed with minutely detailed data they've been collecting about themselves.

Yet health care providers lack the capacity or tools to review five years of Fitbit logs or instantaneously interpret data from dozens of lifestyle, fitness, or food tracking apps that a patient might have on a cell phone, according to new University of Washington research.

And patients who ask providers to make sense of their self-tracked data or spreadsheets are often disappointed by the reaction -- or the lack of one.

In a study that won a best paper award and will be presented in March at the Association for Computing Machinery's conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing in San Francisco, UW researchers surveyed 211 patients and interviewed 21 doctors, dietitians, and other health care providers about their expectations for how patients' self-tracking data should be shared and used.

"We've heard doctors say more and more that people bring this data into the clinic and they're just overwhelmed by it," said lead author Christina Chung, a UW doctoral student in Human Centered Design & Engineering.

"When you're managing chronic disease or symptoms, day-to-day lifestyle tracking data can be useful, but doctors don't have a way to use these data efficiently and effectively."

The UW team -- which includes physicians, computer scientists, and engineers -- is exploring ways to make self-tracking data more clinically useful and to help health care providers and patients collaboratively engage with it, including:

• Developing tools to visualize, summarize, and annotate self-tracking data;
• Designing methods to help analyze and explore the data;
• Helping clinicians understand which tracking tools can best support different goals;
• Encouraging doctors to explain how they want patients to track behaviors, and why;
• Helping patients verbally explain or integrate information for their providers, rather than simply sharing raw data; and
• Clearly outlining expectations for how the data will be shared and used by both parties.

The researchers surveyed patients and providers who manage irritable bowel syndrome or overweight and obese patients -- conditions that commonly involve tracking aspects of food consumption, lifestyle behaviors, and symptoms.

Patients use a variety of strategies -- including paper diaries, charts and reports -- to help doctors understand their daily food intake and physical activity. [Photos: University of Washington]

 

 

 

 

Providers who asked patients to keep paper diaries or suggested specific tracking tools often found the resulting information helpful in collaboratively diagnosing triggers or arriving at effective treatments.

That was largely because those providers had designed and refined those processes over time to elicit useful information and track the most relevant patient behavior. Providers also found it helpful to make notes in the patients' paper diaries or forms, and then physically review them together. These notes also served as a record of the visit for patients after they left to go home.

Doctors reported being more challenged by data-tracking efforts that patients initiated. An app that a patient found in the Apple store, or wearable activity trackers like Fitbit or Microsoft Band, may track extraneous information or summarize the data in a way that's not relevant for that health concern.

Co-author Jasmine Zia, an attending physician and acting assistant professor in UW Medicine's Division of Gastroenterology, said it's also important that the data be credible, which requires studies or validation that show a provider that they can trust the technology's analysis.

"As a provider you feel pressured because you want to help and interpret the data that people are bringing you, but every format is different and none of the data is validated," Zia said.

"One thing I'd say to app developers is that there really needs to be a summary page that's quick to look at and can be interpreted in two to five minutes. Right now patients just print out logs, and that doesn't work," Zia said.

Patients, however, often become quite immersed in their personal data once they begin tracking it, said co-author Sean Munson, assistant professor of human-centered design and engineering.

Patients who shared self-tracking data with providers wanted their doctors to have a complete picture of their daily life, to help them make sense of the data, to use it in developing personalized treatment plans, and to be rewarded for their hard work in keeping those logs.

"Once patients start tracking data, they often see every day as a success or struggle. And people want their doctors to engage with it at that level, but that is totally impractical in the amount of time providers have," Munson said.

But interviewees reported that showing even a little bit of personalization and responsiveness to the data -- whether it was looking at reports or listening to a patient interpret what trends he or she thought were important -- could help build rapport and convince patients to follow through on the provider's advice. As one patient put it:

"He (the doctor) just skimmed through it very quickly ... but it was helpful in our relationship because I have some problems that were a little different than the normal patient. ... From that information, he went, ‘Oh, this is a little different, we can treat this.' It made a substantial improvement."

The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Intel Corp., through its UW-based Science and Technology Center for Pervasive Computing; and the National Science Foundation.

Co-authors include Kristin Dew, a UW doctoral student in human-centered design and engineering; Allison Cole, a UW assistant professor of family medicine; James Fogarty, a UW associate professor of computer science and engineering; and Julie Kientz, a UW associate professor of human centered design and engineering.

Published March 2016

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