Due to the continuous development in the tech world and its application in several industries, it has also extended its irresistible and positive impact on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) industry.
The effect it has had in recent years in the world of electronics is beyond expectations, from IoT devices, smartphones, computers, AI, and more.
Now PCBs are making some major moves in the healthcare tech industry by revolutionizing medical devices and bridging whatever gap there is between a patient and doctor.
PCBs are making the creation of these highly helpful medical devices possible. The advancements in healthcare tech are solving some major problems that are faced in the medical sector like making an accurate diagnosis and tracking the health progress of patients, easier.
To illustrate the impact PCBs are having in the medical sector, the medical electronics market is growing rapidly and doesn’t look like it’s stopping. The global medical electronics market is expected to reach $ 4.4billion by 2022.
PCBs are now critically relevant in the medical sector as technology continues to advance. Most medical equipment and devices are rarely devoid of PCBs, as they now require them to properly and effectively function due to their computerized nature.
Medical devices like defibrillators, electrical muscle stimulation equipment, medical imaging systems, MRIs, CT scans and ultrasonic equipment need PCBs to function.
The Positive Impact of PCBs in the Healthcare Sector
With inventions like wearables, board cameras, and blood pressure monitors that possess advantages that go a long way in saving the life of patients, PCBs help by giving an accurate diagnosis, health stats of patients and keeping up with health progress or emerging health issues.
Through applications like Fitbit which help doctors keep a tab on their patient’s health, the major component of these devices is PCBs. Therefore, PCBs are significantly contributing to the health-care industry, making the creation of these medical devices highly possible.
Also, the development of HDI PCBs aid in matching the accuracy, size, and other unique requirements of these medical applications.
Medical wearable devices like fitness trackers have grown in popularity due to its importance because doctors are able to track the physical activity and diet of patients. These devices can also monitor heart rates and breathing patterns. Hence, an individual’s health information can be gotten beyond the hospital premises.
Why Flex PCBs Are The Centre of Attention?
Flex PCB is a type of PCB that is becoming the focus for the creation of these items because of its versatility.
Most wearable medical devices are made with flex PCBs because the gadgets are wrapped, folded and applied on parts of the body or areas that propose flexibility. There are wearables available to track physical activities, monitor heart rate, blood pressure, glucose, muscle movement, and many more.
The wearable market is one of the major drivers for the PCB manufacturing industry due to its growing popularity. The global market for wearable medical technology itself is projected to be around USD 4.5 billion by 2020.
Also, for gadgets that have to be ingested in the body, it is best made with flex PCBs in order to endure the toxicity inside the body. One of the examples is PillCam which is made with a flex PCB, a swallowable pill camera to get a detailed visualization into the small bowel.
Flex PCBs are adjustable and can easily adapt in any condition they are applied to especially as delicate as the human body. Due to the fact that these medical devices are coming into direct contact with the human body, flex PCBs go through a PCB test engineering and they are also approved by the FDA.
Therefore, flex PCBs are the real deal in the medical industry, due to the recent and future technological advancements in both the healthcare and electronics industries.
The demand for smaller and lighter products has dominated the medical field tech, which leaves them to no best option than flex PCBs. As wearable applications become more widespread and developed so do PCBs, specifically flex PCBs.
Some Applications of PCBs In The Medical Industry
- Wearables: Activity trackers like Fitbits and Garmin’s Vivosmart.
- Infernal Devices: Pill cameras, board cameras, heart pacemakers, and so on. They all function with PCBs for vivid internal body overview.
- Monitors: There are several types of monitors and most of them employ the use of PCBs. These monitors include heart rate, blood glucose, body temperature, and blood pressure, monitors.
- X-ray Computed Tomography
- Ultrasonic Equipment
The Influence on Both Markets
Both the PCB and the healthcare industry have impacted each other through the influence they have on growing consumer trends.
The worldwide mobile health market will surpass $20 billion and this will impact the PCB market. Also, according to a research report, by 2022, the global PCB market is expected to reach an estimated $89.7 billion by 2024 with a CAGR of 4.3% from 2019 to 2024.
The major driver of the PCB Industry influence in the healthcare sector; Wearables, is estimated to double in sales by 2022, becoming a $27 Billion Industry. This will specifically influence the flexible printed circuit board market as it is expected to reach $27 billion by the year 2022.
These clearly illustrate how both industries are expanding. The PCB industry continues to grow at the pace of the healthcare tech industry. These applications will only continue to become more efficient, smaller, lighter and highly useful as the demand for these devices keeps accelerating.
The application of PCBs in the healthcare sector will lead to unlimited possibilities and will continue to evolve.
