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August 24, 2010

Wireless Sensor Nodes for Medical Devices: Ten Times Smaller?


Potomac Photonics, a company that specializes in the microfabrication of miniaturized products, recently announced successful completion of Phase 1 its NSF SBIR contract for miniaturization of wireless sensor nodes. This required engineers to reduce the volume of current state-of-art wireless sensor packages by a factor of ten.

Potomac developed embedded-component 3D packaging techniques and incorporated an advanced battery from FlexEl in order to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing sugar-cube sized sensing nodes with high-density energy storage. According to the company, the technology is cost-effective and could produce nodes of almost arbitrary shape, which could “revolutionize the manner in which wireless sensors are manufactured.”

As an article in Medtech Pulse (News - Alert) points out, active medical devices often must incorporate their own power source and have a means of communication with the external world. These devices often require minimal power consumption and conformal geometries for system packaging, thus this new technology may be particularly well-suited for medical devices.

Potomac plans to work with sensing systems developers to incorporate the new technology into future designs. The company hopes that by focusing on size reduction, shape customization, and time to market, that it will play a significant role in the development of next-generation wireless sensors for home healthcare and other applications. Via Potomac Photonics and Medtech Pulse.


Ms. Graham is a writer and editor with a current focus on health and wellness. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Erin Monda
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