We have customers ask from time to time to see our Medical Connectors catalog. Some of our older sales guys would drop the full line catalog on the table and smile. The customer may look a bit confused until we started having a conversation and find out about what they really needed. Samtec has historically not locked a connector family into a specific market. Samtec categorizes our connectors in what we call our Solution Blocks. We make connectors that can fit in every market! We group them by features, sizes, speeds, or construction. Does Samtec have medical only connectors? No. Does Samtec have connectors that will work well in the medical industry? Absolutely!
Integration leads to Innovation
We understand your equipment is revolutionizing patient care and procedures. Samtec wants to make sure to build in the future runway needed to increase functionality and speeds. This allows you to design your system to be in use for years to come. The solution blocks I mentioned earlier are constantly mixed and matched to produce the right combination for your total solution, not just a connecting component. Do you need more isolation in a longer channel? Samtec can mix any of our connectors with our own best in class micro coax or twinax cable. Do you need more functionality through one system to handle new features on the equipment? Samtec utilizes all the tools in our arsenal to provide the best solutions that serve the most diverse request.
High Quality and High Integrity
Samtec is well aware of medical related industry standards. We are compliant with many of them, but do not fully certify one product to any one full standard. If your system requires something outside of our standard practices, we are happy to have a conversation about what you are looking for. More on that shortly. The 3 more prominent standards we hear about often, and our typical response, is noted here.
This standard focuses on the methodology to create the inherent design and dimensions in order to reduce the risk of misconnections between medical devices, or between accessories for different applications. Samtec verifies much of the concerns through our standard Design Verification Test (DVT). This test verifies use for both mechanical and electrical requirements. Some series we take a step farther and send them through our Severe Environment Testing (SET). During the design phase we review any concern with proper mating as well as acceptable creepage and clearance to prevent an unintended shock.
This standard also looks at the general requirements for basic safety and essential performance but it adds a focus on electromagnetic disturbances. The first part of this is related to our test noted above. The electromagnetic disturbances are reviewed deeper in our some of our signal integrity test. Some families of connectors have options to add 360° shields, where others include internal features to dampen or ground EMI concerns.
This standard is very much related to ISO-9001 in regard to the quality systems needed for proper tracking of the components and processes used in the manufacturing process. Annex B of the ISO 13485 standard has a nice comparison between it and ISO-9001.
Unique solutions for your unique solution
Still not convinced we can help you with a medical connector, or medical solutions? 30% of Samtecs’ sales come from custom configurations made for your application. The integration of our quality systems with the flexibility to combine different technologies under one roof allow us to quickly create an Altered Standard Product (ASP) or unique solution just for you. Hermetically sealed, non-magnetic, implantable, or custom keying options are not too far out of reach for many of our products. Feel free to reach out to our medical industry managers team for questions on your new design.
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