Contributed Article February 6, 2018

Choosing the Right Interconnect Systems for Medical

Device Designs

www.connectorsupplier.com/choosing-the-right-interconnect-systems-for-medical-device-designs/

Guidelines for the effective selection of medical connectors

By Tom Kannally, product specialist/applications engineer, Contact Technologies, Smiths

Interconnect

Choosing the Right Interconnect Systems for Medical Device Designs

to consider when selecting connectors to ensure maximum performance and reliability over the

expected life of the device.

Proper Mating

The potential for mating connectors that don’t belong together is a safety risk in many medical

applications. System developers can build in safeguards by using an appropriate form of color-

coding to provide a visual indication of a correct match between a plug and receptacle.

Color-coding systems often have to be decided when the connectors are purchased from the

supplier because the color is an unchangeable feature of the plastic housing. However, some

connectors offer greater flexibility. For example, receptacle and plug color-coding can

sometimes be attributed through the use of interchangeable and differently colored silicone

while identical in every other respect, have fixed keys that are part of the connector body.

Others have customizable keying, which allows users to alter the keying of the connector by

changing the position of an insert and can help lower the cost of inventory.

For example, a customizable keyed connector with six different positions affords developers

the flexibility to alter the interconnect configuration as the system requirements evolve. In

cases like this, mismating is prevented by a plastic barrier positioned between the plug and

receptacle in such a way that only compatible connectors will be able to mate. This approach

more effectively reduces the possibility of contact damage compared to connectors in which

the contacts themselves provide the physical barrier to mismating.

High Reliability

In medical applications, and especially those with a safety-critical function, extra care must be

taken to ensure that plugs and receptacles remain reliably interconnected. One reliability

safeguard is to ensure that the connector has been specified for a sufficiently high number of

mating cycles. Some of the connectors used in patient monitoring equipment, for example,

have to be mated and unmated many times a day over a lifetime of many years. Depending on

the type of system, a connector may have to endure tens of thousands of mating cycles during

its lifetime. So, typical high-quality medical, military, or industrial connectors, which are often

connectors may also have to be handled with protective gloves that could be torn or damaged

by sharp edges or awkward handling requirements. So, system developers should also be