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TI Android for medical devices

Vasco Tesi
Intellectual 590 points


Hi, 

we have to develop a medical device which is not life critical , but is class II and therefore has considerable reliability requirements. 

There are some platforms very attractive , like BeagleBoard and some others , which are  low cost , powerful and with very rich connectivity. 

Is there anyone who reads this forum , which has experienced the use of any of these platforms for some medical application, or any kind of application that requires a considerable level of reliability / safety  ? 

which development platform is suitable for this kind of application ? Originally i was thinking about the use af Android, which in spite of being new and having some complexity, seems stable; but by reading forums and reviews on the Internet,it seems that  the opinions are conflicting. 

The central question is not about real time, because we will use a dedicated board with a microcontroller for low level tasks with real time requirements; so, the focus is about reliability and safety. Which Android distribution is best for this kind of application ? 

  • 0
    TI__Expert 4390 points

    Hi Vasco,

    1. All "head mounted" - i.e. which required LCD/Touch Screen for user interface - Android suits best for that matter.

    2. As you have already mentioned that you are using microcontroller for critical operations, now choosing an OS required - What degree of realibility we would like to achieve.

    3. I recommend to refer article by Alen Cohen(Logic PD’s medical practice team lead and director of systems engineering) - "http://www.medicalelectronicsdesign.com/print/937"

    Where he mentioned-

    "Class I devices present minimal risk and include products like tongue depressors, bandages, and basic surgical instruments. Class II devices present moderate risk and include products like electrocardiographs, x-ray units, blood gas analyzers, and infusion pumps. Class III devices pose the highest risk and include implantable defibrillators, replacement heart valves, and implanted cerebella stimulators."

    "As a general rule of thumb, Android and similar OSs are appropriate for use in Class I and Class II devices, whereas Class III devices typically require a smaller high-reliability OS. However, every device is different. In any medical device development effort, we must thoroughly consider and understand the risks introduced by OS selection."

    "Android is a strong contender for use in medical devices that don’t require the highest level of software reliability, and whose pricing can support the required hardware. It strikes a good balance between functionality, resource requirements, and productivity, and has the additional advantage of building on the huge and thriving Linux ecosystem."

    BR,

    satish