Medical wire and cable is different than wire and cable used in other applications.

Design engineers need to keep this in mind when spec ifying their cable. Often time custom medical cables are needed due to bio-compa tibility, sterilization and possibly smaller sized device requirements. When specifying a medical cable one needs to keep in mind several factors such a s: Sterilization techniques autoclave, gamma, alcohol? Will this be a disposable cable? Will the cable come in contact with the patient? Bio compatibility. Flexibility requirements. How will the device be used day to day? Due to time constraints many times engineers will sometimes settle for a readily available off the shelf cable for prototypes or proof of concept, which is fine for the short term. When it comes to field and clinical trials a prototype shou ld be made with wire or cable specifically designed for the application to bette r measure longevity and functionality. Medical cable applications fall into seve ral categories; handheld medical devices are a large segment of medical cable ap plications. Medical Hand Piece Cables Cables for medical hand pieces must carry the power, control, sensor and data to and from the hand piece. The cable may be as simple as a two-conductor cable, p roviding power to a cut & cauterize scalpel or a multi-conductor power, control and sensor cable used on an orthopedic surgery device. Cables for handheld medic al lasers likely contain lumens for cooling. Ablating hand piece cables can also contain lumens for irrigation and suction removal. The design of medical hand pieces falls into two categories: re-useable and disp osable. See below for information on Disposable Medical Cables and Re-useable Me dical Cables. Disposable Medical Cables Disposable medical cables are made from the lowest cost materials that will meet the design needs of the device. Conductor cost is dictated more by the number o f strands used to make the conductor. The higher the strand count the more flexi ble the wire becomes. A marketing trade-off is often made for disposable cables, i.e. increase stiffness can be tolerated by the need to hold cost down. 7 or 19 strand conductors can be used, where in re-useable cables the strand count can be well over 50. The use of plating is reviewed and bare copper is the most ofte n used. Tin plating is used only to enhance solder ability. Crimping the wires i s often the cheapest means of terminating the conductor. Silver plating is rarel y used for disposable cables. Conductor sizes are determined by the current need s of the device. Insulation and jacket materials are chosen by cost. Low cost materials such as P oly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) or Thermo Plastic Elastomers such as poly urethane are often used. Polyethylene can be used as insulation. Insulation and jacket thickn ess are determined by the voltage ratings of the signals in the cable. Shields, when required, are usually of a spiral type rather than braid to hold t he cost down. Spiral shields may lose shield effectiveness during repeated flexi ng, but the number of flexes for disposable cables is limited. Jacket colors usually are chosen by the program. The need for gamma sterilizatio n may limit the color shades available. Colors can change during gamma steriliza tion and are usually required to be stable for less than 10 cycles to allow for re-sterilization when repackaging is needed. Re-useable Medical Cables. Medical cables designed for re-useable devices have to use materials that will w ithstand several cycles of sterilization by alcohol based agents or autoclaves. Conductors are made from high strand count conductors for maximum flexibility an d often they are made from high strength copper alloys. The size of the conducto rs is determined by the current they must carry to the device. To withstand the

rigors of sterilization, plating s of tin or silver plating may be required. Insulation must also withstand the rigors of sterilization and are often either Teflon s such as FEP, PFA or Tefzel or Silicone Rubber. The use of lower cost material s may be made on a case by case basis. When shields are required, they must be made from materials resistant to many st erilization cycles and are often silver plated copper or silver plated high stre ngth copper alloys. Shield construction is usually of a braid rather than a spir al, as spiral shields can move during flexing and compromise the shielding effec tiveness. The more popular choice for cable jackets are made from Santoprene TPE which is goo d for up to 100 cycles of autoclave, or Silicone Rubber. Medical cable applications also include implantable, medical robotics, therapeut ic devices, sensors and monitoring equipment. To find out more or discuss your applications with medical wire and cable please contact Calmont Wire & Cable. Please feel free to leave your comments; we would enjoy hearing from you.