Material Considerations for Electrical Contacts in High Reliability Medical Connectors
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By: Mike Gedeon, Market Manager; Technology and Innovation Lead
With an increased focus on quickly getting ventilators and other medical equipment in the hands of health care providers, engineers who design these devices need materials they can count on. Failure is not acceptable in life-saving medical equipment, making it important to evaluate the Electronic Materials used in one of the key components of these devices—high-reliability connectors and switches.
Because medical connectors are used anytime an electrical connection is needed in a hospital or other medical setting, it is important that the materials used to create them can handle the challenges of this unique environment. For example, the connectors need to be simple so that it is easy to locate their connecting port and avoid confusion of where they should be plugged in. They should also be very tolerant to wear and frequent sanitation, while remaining lightweight with a low insertion force for ergonomic reasons.
Copper alloys and clad metals surfaces are two material solutions that tolerate the stress and misalignment often put on these medical components, making them ideal solutions for electrical contacts in medical connectors used in imaging, therapeutic and portable diagnostic equipment, patient monitors, robotic controls and more. They offer critical properties such as high strength, hardness and electrical conductivity, as well as formability and many other unique characteristics.
During our upcoming webinar, hosted by ASM International, I will discuss the benefits of using copper and clad metals in medical equipment, as well as the properties that enable them to tolerate demanding medical applications. Click the button below to register now and connect with me on LinkedIn for ongoing updates on this topic.