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SLA material 101: designers comparison to molded thermoplastics
This article provides an important and simple tool for R&D groups using 3D printed prototypes for engineering testing. When a product team asks “How are we going to prototype this product?”, one of the first options they usually consider is 3D printing. 3D printing is simple, fast, and inexpensive, and some 3D printing methods can […]
Episode 3: Time-to-Digital Converter
You’ve heard of ADC. You’ve heard of DAC. Have you heard of TDC? Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC): Time-to-digital converters precisely measure the time between events and output a digital count. You would reach for one of these for a design that needs to measure time-of-flight (ultra-sonic, lidar, radar, etc). However, many more uses can be implemented […]
R&D Life – Peter Frey – Episode 4
Peter’s expertise spans nearly 2 decades in Electrical Engineering, helping a lot of people along the way. The journey to Staff Electrical Engineer has earned Peter a few gray hairs and a lot of wisdom we pay attention to! Join us at Engenious Design and find purpose in what you do. https://engenio.us/engenious-jobs/
Episode 2: Active EMI Filter
Today’s device is about minimizing volume Active EMI Filter (AEF): Active EMI filters inject a cancellation voltage or current to reduce radiated and conducted noise… actively. They can be built and tuned do-it-yourself style with op-amps, but it is always convenient to have a ready to place part, like this offering from Vicor. The volume […]
R&D Life – Griffin Adams – Episode 3
Collaborators and hands-on problem-solvers, Engenious Electrical Engineering Technicians are trusted team members who make a big difference on design projects. Griffin Adams shares a bit about his experience as an EE Technician at Engenious. Join us at Engenious Design and find purpose in what you do. https://engenio.us/engenious-jobs/
Open House
Engenious Design 2400 W. 75th Street, Suite 210 Prairie Village, Kansas 66208 Friday, November 4th: 4pm – 7pm Come join Engenious Design for an open house and see what’s new. A lot has changed since our last open house: we are in a new location with a larger team and more interesting projects. […]
R&D Life – David Steele – Episode 2
Collaborators and hands-on problem-solvers, Engenious Electrical Engineering Technicians are trusted team members who make a big difference on design projects. David Steele shares a bit about his experience as an EE Technician at Engenious. Just don’t mess with his tweezers! Join us at Engenious Design and find purpose in what you do. https://engenio.us/engenious-jobs/
Episode 1: Autonomous Radar Sensor
What is better than 2.45 GHz? It’s 60 GHz of course! Autonomous Radar Sensor: Millimeter wavelength Doppler radar has the spatial resolution to detect changes in finger positions, and hence useful for gesture recognition. The offerings from device manufacturers are getting smarter and friendlier to use, often making the antennas built-in (antenna-in-package, AIP). Designers can […]
R&D Life – Tyler Kodanaz – Episode 1
Electrical Engineers are essential on our team, designing advanced medical systems. But they don’t take themselves too seriously! You’ll never look at sticky notes on the wall again without wondering, and thinking about this video. https://youtu.be/rnLQ1valnkA Join us at Engenious Design and find purpose in what you do. https://engenio.us/engenious-jobs/
Clinical Insights Make Better Medical Devices
What good is a medical device if patients or clinicians can’t actually use it in their everyday life? That question may have an obvious answer: it’s practically worthless. And yet it’s a query that is regularly ignored altogether. Over the years, we’ve seen many expensive, heavily-researched medical devices become glorified paperweights simply because they weren’t intentionally designed with […]
How do you determine an acquisition target’s full potential?
Acquisitions are commonplace in today’s medical device market and can add significant value to a company. The decision to make an acquisition is complex and multi-faceted, not just about the financials. Particularly when a new technology is involved, the technical evaluation of products can be a key part of any due diligence effort. At Engenious, […]
Team Spotlight: Tyler Kodanaz
At Engenious, our team is key to our success, and we love to celebrate all the people who make it happen. We are highlighting some of the people who make Engenious Design a leading design partner for medical devices and high technology systems. Tyler Kodanaz Tyler is deeply intrigued by the inner workings of […]
Episode 2: Deciphering New FDA Guidance on Software Submissions
At Engenious, we help medical device R&D leaders create reliable systems quickly. As a result, we develop and test medical device software while navigating regulations and standards that affect software development practices. We are keenly aware that misundestanding FDA’s new guidance on software could cause delays in gaining FDA clearance for new devices. This article […]
Team Spotlight: Stephen Nyberg
At Engenious, our team is key to our success, and we love to celebrate all the people who make it happen. We are highlighting some of the people who make Engenious Design a leading design partner for medical devices and high technology systems. Stephen Nyberg Stephen was an early member of the team at Engenious, [...]
Nurse Error or Medical Device Design Problem
Disturbed: As a designer of medical devices, I’m disturbed by the situation where a nurse faces prison for a deadly medical error. This Kaiser Health News article outlines a case where a nurse is facing prison for a deadly medical error. But there is more to the story for the nuanced reader in medical device R&D. […]
Press Release: Kansas Companies Team Up to Create Medical Device that Treats Previously-Inoperable Cancers
Medical Device Engineering Firm, Engenious Design, partners with Precision Microwave to expand Precision Microwave’s groundbreaking technology. Prairie Village, KS: Engenious Design has partnered with Manhattan (KS) startup Precision Microwave to develop a technologically-advanced system to treat previously-inoperable cancer tumors with minimally-invasive surgery. The system is a new Microwave (MW) Generator to accompany Precision Microwave’s next-generation […]
Episode 1: A New Resource
Why the Toolbox? At Engenious, we help R&D leaders create reliable systems quickly; medical and other high-technology systems. This is what I (Chris) have spent the last 22 years doing, and it’s one of the best jobs in the world, in my opinion. We get to help our clients make the world a better place […]
Team Spotlight: Katy Kanne
At Engenious our team is key to our success, and we love to celebrate all the individuals who make it happen. We are highlighting the people who make Engenious Design a leading design firm for medical devices and high technology systems. Katy Kanne Katy has been one of our Project Managers/Product Managers at Engenious Design […]
Parental Leave at Engenious Design
What We Think! The demands of parenting are great, and Engenious supports parents of all kinds. Parenting begins when the new family member arrives; but that is just the start – the parenting journey is long. At Engenious, we’ve got your back for all of it. What We Offer for the Start of Your Parenting Journey […]
Team Spotlight: Nick Greusel
Engenious Design has always taken pride in the level of talent we have gathered. Each individual contributes a unique set of skills that sets us apart. As we continue to grow, we wanted to introduce many members of our team and put a spotlight on their credentials, their contributions, and give you a little peek [...]
Team Wellness at Engenious: A Partnership with Resonate Organizational Wellness
Engenious Design takes a holistic approach to benefits and team wellness, considering what best supports each individual as a whole person. We truly care for each other, and one of our goals is to encourage wellness along all dimensions. National Norms The 2021 Work Health Survey from Mental Health America reflected that 71% of respondents [...]
“Basic Safety” and “Essential Performance” are key to medical device design.
Applying concepts of “Basic Safety” and “Essential Performance” are key to medical device design. Essential Performance is more nuanced than Basic Safety, and this article focuses on the concept of Essential Performance. We explain the concept, how it’s used, and provide practical examples for medical device R&D leaders and engineers. If you’re going to make [...]
Critical Care Devices: UI Design Essentials
The patient has suddenly taken a turn for the worse. He collapses in bed and begins to shake uncontrollably. A once quiet room is now filled with the sound of persistent, loud alarms. In seconds, a clinician must interpret the screen of a critical care monitor to determine what’s wrong. The ability of a critical [...]
Project Leadership Teams: Our Approach at Engenious Design
At Engenious, we create new medical devices for our clients, and that starts with dynamic project leadership. Project leadership is essential to driving projects to successful conclusion. Our project leadership approach covers key needs while balancing workloads across specialist leaders who all bring something unique to the project. While these titles are found in other [...]
In Our Spare Time: Mason’s Arcade Cabinet Restoration Hobby
Curious about what Engenious Design team members do in their spare time? It is not surprising many team members at Engenious have hobbies that benefit from their professional expertise. However, for an Engenious electrical engineering technician, it was the other way around. His passion for arcade cabinet restoration led him to his career. Meet Mason, [...]
The Key To An Adaptable & Agile Workspace? Put Everything On Wheels
Since starting the company, I have always said “at Engenious, everything is on wheels”. It’s a bit of a running joke here because we put wheels on nearly everything, even the office plants. But the wheels are an intentionally-physical embodiment of our organizational philosophy that we are always changing, adapting, improving. To create an agile [...]
Engenious Design Benefits Strive to Meet Employees Where They Are; A Continually Improving Approach
Engenious Design takes a holistic approach to benefits, striving to meet team members where they are; to provide what they need the most. Our core cultural values are Relate, Create, Produce, and Improve. So, we designed a benefits package to rival and even exceed those at larger organizations because we believe that every aspect of [...]
Engenious Design Selected For Development of New NTrainer System®
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Medical device engineering firm, Engenious Design, partners with Innara Health to design the 2nd generation of their ground-breaking technology designed to improve feeding outcomes in premature infants. Prairie Village, KS: Engenious Design, a 39-person creative product development firm specializing in electronic medical device design, has partnered with Kansas City-based start-up Innara Health [...]
14 Product Recommendations To Achieve An HD Virtual Meeting Experience
A major lifeline this year has been virtual meetings! Zoom and other platforms have kept us connected to loved-ones, facilitated education for students from kindergarten through college, and enabled remote work environments (both in and outside the office). Solid tech equipment can make the virtual meeting experience so much better! So this year if you’re [...]
New Wearables Positioned For Resurgence As COVID-19 Outbreaks Rise and Fall
Just a few years ago, fitness trackers and smartwatches were flying off shelves, captivating consumers with the newly democratized capability to track fitness milestones and heart rates. In the intervening time, we’ve gotten used to viewing and analyzing these types of health data. While wearable devices may not seem as exciting as they did in [...]
Ventilator R&D Post COVID-19 – What’s Next?
Ventilation R&D leaders are facing challenging days: everyone on the planet has lit a fire under them to produce ventilators as quickly as possible for the common good. This sense of urgency has been fueled, in part, by the unknown impact of this pandemic and potential scarcity of ventilators based upon infection rate trajectories. However, [...]
Article Series | Preserve Technical Knowledge: Accessible Documentation
How R&D leaders can preserve core technical knowledge amidst changing teams and external partnerships with accessible documentation. The first article in a series on proven practices that medical device R&D leaders can implement to hold competitive advantages and hard-won product knowledge in-house.
FDA Device Recalls: A Primer for Medical Device Research & Development Leaders
When medical device Research & Development groups face the potential for a recall, it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation. Smart R&D leaders must equip themselves ahead of time in order to lead effectively during recalls.
FDA Emergency Use Authorizations: What Happens to Products After the Emergency Is Over?
How do medical device R&D leaders get a product to market quickly in emergency situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 90+ day 510(k) approval timeline to consider?
Are Bag Valve Mask drive systems the COVID-19 emergency ventilation solution? A designer’s review.
Like many with engineering history in ventilator development, I was excited to see globe-spanning work to quickly create or adapt emergency ventilators to address the mounting COVID-19 pandemic. I read the MIT paper with their BVM system and came away thinking the system isn’t the simple answer we all want.
COVID-19 Respiratory Distress Workflow Hypothesis
When Engenious got the call from a government organization to help brainstorm ways to avoid a ventilator crisis, we jumped into action. It was obvious that there were a thousand ways to design a ventilator, but we were particularly interested in designing something that meets the core needs of doctors and nurses on the front [...]
N95 respirators are medical devices; learn how FDA treats these devices that are critical to our nation’s COVID-19 response.
Protective masks like the N95 are in the news with shortages, stockpiles and new legislation around this important personal protective equipment. In this article we summarize how the FDA regulates these products, who makes them and what’s in place to make sure that they work!
Industrial Design Trends: What Medical Device R&D Leaders Need to Know
Medical devices have particular industrial design needs that set them apart from consumer products. In this article, we explore what makes medical devices unique, and provide a summary of recent industrial design trends: aesthetic, style, color, material and finishes applicable to the needs of medical devices.
Clinical Insights Program: Involving Healthcare Providers In Device Design
At Engenious Design, we create medical devices on behalf of our clients. We are a group of designers and engineers, and we invest a lot of time thinking about how these devices will be used.
Ideo’s farm team: why med device R&D leaders need one too
Twenty-some years ago, Ideo quietly brought me into the inner world of their design practice, through a little-known, and never-publicized back door.
Expertise in Electrosurgery
In 1920 an eccentric inventor named William T. Bovie developed an innovative electrosurgical unit that passes high frequency current into the body allowing the current to cut or coagulate. Harvey Cushing, the founder of modern neurosurgery, introduced this technology to clinical practice.
Our Mothers Would Be Proud
At Engenious, we design products that help your loved ones! Our mothers’ would be proud!
Research has long shown the correlation between the use of urinary catheters and morbidity and mortality among elderly patients.
Computational Fluid Dynamics & Disc Golf
Who knew that computational fluid dynamics and disc golf went hand-in-hand? Our very own Griffin Adams did! He designed a virtual wind tunnel to improve his disc golf game. One of his many hobbies for when he isn’t designing circuits for our clients.
Fidget Spinner by Stephen & Ricky
The recent rise in popularity would lead one to believe that the fidget spinner is a relatively recent invention. Actually, fidget spinners have have been around since the 1990s.