Anesthesia workstation
New embedded computer - quickly and smoothly implemented for the anesthesia workstation
Starting situation
The electronic components in medical devices often have a very short life cycle. This involves a lot of expense for the manufacturer associated with product maintenance:
The user interface (UI) of our client’s anesthesia workstation was developed by IMT several years ago and is based on an embedded computer from the industrial technology division of F&S Elektronik Systeme GmbH. The company has announced that this embedded computer will soon be discontinued. The client has built up a stock of the remaining embedded computers and was thus able to continue manufacturing in the short term.
Project objectives
To replace the obsolete embedded computer and ensure UI compatibility, perform necessary tests and supply documentation.
Technical implementation
After the situation analysis, we concluded that it was not necessary to develop new UI software due to the possibility of the replacement of an embedded computer with a pin-compatible new model by the same manufacturer. This resulted in a shorter time-to-market and enabled the end user to keep the familiar UI. It was also possible to avoid expensive usability tests.
Since the new embedded computer also uses a more recent version of the same operating system, some driver controls had to be modified and new configurations were required. Due to the new runtime environment, complete verification of all functions was necessary, which we were able to complete in a short time.
Results
Even before our client had used up all its remaining inventory of older-generation embedded computers, we were able to deliver the updated UI software including the required documentation. This provided our client with enough time to incorporate the change into production and ensured a seamless transition without interrupting production.
