Revolutionizing Medical Device Design
Charles G. Sodini
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.