Orchid Technogies Engineering and Consulting, Inc., Medical Device Design

Orchid Technologies Engineering and Consulting, Inc., designed a cough-assist machine for their client. Simply coughing can be most difficult for people with certain illnesses. Orchid begins by embracing both the unique technical and human-factor design challenges. We work closely with our client to develop a deep understanding of the product requirements. We develop a robust and effective electronic architecture. That architecture is reviewed through risk-assessment, design fault management, change procedures and rigorous design verification processes. The result—a medical electronics product which makes it possible for her (and her parents) to sleep more soundly.

High-pressure air is developed using a very low back-EMF brushless DC motor. Running at a maximum speed of 12,000 RPM, this motor moves air very efficiently. A custom, high-performance, high-efficiency DC motor controller provides constant speed control of the motor over a wide range of load conditions. During the cough-assisting-process, airflow through the motor system changes rapidly. These changes cause large, step-function changes in the motor's load. To function correctly, motor control electronics must rapidly adjust to these rapid changes in motor load. PID motor speed control with advanced feed-forward control techniques permits precise motor speed control.

Precision, low-noise analog electronics perform high-accuracy relative and absolute air pressure data collection. Low-noise motor controller design techniques makes it possible to mix both precision analog electronics together with high-current switching circuitry.

Orchid Technologies Engineering and Consulting, Inc., specializes in electronic products design. Orchid's designs include medical, instrumentation, security, telecom, energy, consumer electronics, automotive and more. Visit Orchid Technologies at www.orchid-tech.com. Call Paul Nickelsberg, President and CTO of Orchid at 978-461-2000 or email paul@orchid-tech.com for more information.

cough-assist, medical design