{"72795":{"#nid":"72795","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Medical Device Test Center Expands Capabilities","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn our increasingly wireless world, the air is full of electromagnetic signals carrying data from one place to another.  While these new technologies advance our options in security, commerce and entertainment, they also produce potential interference that may cause concern for people with implanted medical devices.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne source of potential interference is the electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems that help retailers, libraries and other establishments prevent theft and track inventory.  Also, early signs suggest potential concerns from the radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems that are now coming into more widespread use.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s EAS\/Medical Device E3 Test Center helps manufacturers improve compatibility between implantable medical devices and systems that radiate electromagnetic energy.  The Center, which has focused on EAS systems for more than a decade, has recently expanded its operations and facilities to test new types of security and logistical systems - including RFID.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022EAS systems may cause medical devices to do anything from shutting down to invoking therapy at the wrong time - not a good thing if you\u0027re wearing a defibrillator, which is supposed to shock the heart when needed,\u0022 explained Ralph Herkert, manager of the Center, which is part of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETypically, manufacturers use filters to reduce electromagnetic interference, but medical devices pose special challenges. The operating frequencies and modulation characteristics of EAS systems and tag deactivators can fall in the same frequency band as biological signals, such as the heartbeat. Filters would not only eliminate the EAS signals but also the very signals that medical devices are designed to detect.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Instead of filters, medical device manufacturers must deal with the interference in other ways, such as refining their firmware algorithms,\u0022 Herkert said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at the Center simulate real-world conditions by placing a medical device in a tank of saline solution that simulates the electrical characteristics of body tissue and fluid. The tank then moves along a track that exposes the medical device to nine different EAS systems and five tag deactivators that use various types of magnetic, acoustic-magnetic and radio frequency technologies.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESeveral tests are performed with the device placed in different orientations to represent how people typically interact with EAS field emissions. Manufacturers use the resulting data to improve products and make sure they meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements. In fact, the center\u0027s testing procedures have been used to develop a standardized test protocol for medical device and EAS manufacturers.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022By enabling manufacturers of EAS systems and medical devices to work together, the center reduces adversarial roles and minimizes problems before they occur,\u0022 said Jimmy Woody, who spearheaded the establishment of the Center and served as its manager through 2001. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the Center initially tested pacemakers and defibrillators, today it conducts research on a variety of medical devices including implantable hearing devices, drug-infusion pumps, neurostimulators, cardiac monitors and glucose monitors. And because today\u0027s patients may use more than one medical device, the center has been evaluating possible interactions between different types of devices, such as bone-healing stimulators and implanted cardiac devices. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMost recently, the Center has been investigating new types of security and logistics systems that could be potential emission threats to medical devices. For example, more companies are using radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for inventory control. Right now these devices typically are found on warehouse and shipping containers. Yet as costs decline, RFID technology may soon show up in stores on individual products. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn response, GTRI is acquiring RFID systems, which will be set up and used with the Center\u0027s EAS testing protocols.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022As RFID becomes ubiquitous, testing medical devices against RFID readers and active tags in all frequency ranges will be an essential growth area of the EAS\/Medical Device E3 Test Center,\u0022 said Gisele Bennett, director of GTRI\u0027s Electro-Optical Systems Lab (EOSL), which oversees the center. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Kirk Englehardt (404-407-7280); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kirk.englehardt@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekirk.englehardt@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETechnical Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Ralph Herkert (404-657-0446); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ralph.herkert@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eralph.herkert@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Gisele Bennett (404-407-6155); E-mail:  (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:gisele.bennett@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Egisele.bennett@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: T.J. Becker\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Research improves implantable devices by reducing potential interference"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"New technologies for security, commerce and entertainment may have a down side: potential interference with implantable medical devices.  A Georgia Tech research center is working to head off those potential conflicts.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech\u0027s medical device test center expands"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2006-07-25 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:29","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2006-07-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2006-07-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"72796":{"id":"72796","type":"image","title":"Testing medical devices","body":null,"created":"1449177962","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:02","changed":"1475894665","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:25"},"72797":{"id":"72797","type":"image","title":"Torso simulator","body":null,"created":"1449177962","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:02","changed":"1475894665","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:25"},"72798":{"id":"72798","type":"image","title":"Torso simulator","body":null,"created":"1449177962","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:02","changed":"1475894665","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:25"}},"media_ids":["72796","72797","72798"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}