Revolutionizing medical device design

Summary form only given. The vision of the Medical Electronic Device Realization Center (MEDRC) is to facilitate the microelectronics and medical device industry in the transformation of medical electronic devices as it has successfully demonstrated in computation, communication and consumer electronics. The successful realization of such a vision also demands innovations in the usability and productivity of medical devices, and new technologies and approaches to manufacture devices. Information technology is a critical component of the intelligence that will enhance the usability of devices; real-time image and signal processing combined with intelligent computer systems will enhance the practitioners´ diagnostic intuition. All of the key ingredients are in place at MIT and in Cambridge and Boston. The leadership of MEDRC has had strong industry interaction for over twenty-five years. The MIT research portfolio includes low power integrated circuits and systems, micro electro-mechanical systems, bioelectronics, sensors and microfluidics which are world leading by any measure. The medical researchers and clinicians at world-renowned hospitals located within a mile of MIT, provide the patient settings to prove the efficacy of innovative devices. In this talk I will introduce the research directions of the MEDRC and discuss the circuit and system issues for a wearable vital signs monitors and for portable medical ultrasound imaging as applied to non-invasive intracranial pressure measurements.