Medical Imaging Machine – Patient Couch

An OEM Customer of medical imaging equipment needed a high force actuation solution for a patient couch that had to fit into a small space.  It also needed to be very quiet while in operation.

Mechanical Packaging:

• Customer needed a linear actuator that could exert 4,000 lbs. of force and the actuator needed to fit into a very compact and irregular space.
• The new couch actuator needed to use the existing bracketry and be able to be retro-fitted in the field.

Low Noise while running:

• With the increased demand for quiet-operation in Imaging Labs, actuators are often the noisiest part of the system.  The customer desired to have a lift system that met a certain low dB level as part of their new product matrix.  Other competitive Electro-Mechanical actuation solutions were too noisy and would not meet the desired dB target.

What Kyntronics did to solve this problem:

• Using Kyntronics standard EHA actuator modules, a modified  Electro-Hydraulic  Actuator (EHA)  was configured for this application.  Kyntronics was able to make mechanical changes to the actuator package so that it did not interfere with the structural elements of the Couch mechanism.
• The Kyntronics EHA operates at lower dB levels than comparably sized Electro-Mechanical actuators due to its high efficiency. This EHA configuration provided a significant reduction in noise while operating.

Results: the Kyntronics EHA provided quiet operation and the high force necessary while being packaged to allow the new Couch design to be used in field retrofits thus increasing the market opportunity for this customer.

Surgical Imaging Machine – Multiple Axis Coordinated Motion

An OEM Customer was developing a new technology platform for their Surgical Imaging machine.  Key design requirements included use of lighter weight yet stiffer structures and much smaller packaging envelopes to house the actuators.  In addition, they wanted multiple elements of the machine to move simultaneously together in a coordinated manner to arrive at pre-set points in a smooth robotic fashion and needed to do this in a very cost-effective way.                

Mechanical Packaging:

• This customer needed robust rotary and linear actuators that could be installed in very small space envelopes on their machine.

Coordinated motion:

• Hospitals are constantly looking for productivity improvements particularly in the OR where significant investments are made. As part of their new product offering, this OEM customer wanted to reduce machine movement time by having all elements move simultaneously to pre-set positions or desired locations by medical personnel.
• The customer wanted to offer increased positional accuracy with minimal “jogging” of individual machine elements despite having nine axis of actuators required for each machine.

Cost Effective:

• The medical industry is constantly pushing equipment manufacturers for lower acquisition and operating costs.  This OEM wanted to offer a new machine with advanced capabilities and lower costs.

Results: Kyntronics worked closely with the OEM to adapt Kyntronics Electro-Mechanical actuators for each machine element.  Certain mechanical changes were required to fit in tight locations while providing the necessary torque or force required.  A Power Line Communications approach was used to connect all nine actuators using only two wires between them.  This configuration reduced costs and simplified wiring.  Coordinating motion was done using Kyntronics software to simultaneously operate multiple axes.

Other Medical Equipment Applications

• Patient lifts
• Medical testing equipment
• MRI, CT, X-ray imaging equipment

Kyntronics Actuator Benefits for Medical Equipment Applications:

Products - Electro-Hydraulic and Electro-Mechanical Actuators

• High force in a compact package.  Up to 40,000 LBs force (178kN)
• Environmentally friendly, eliminates hydraulic infrastructure, reduces cost and maintenance
• Precise position, speed and force control, high-speed, smooth motion
• Quiet operation
• Light weight
• Synchronized motion
• Power On-demand, energy efficient
• Rugged design, very reliable
• Programmable & Flexible
• Field Bus compatible control interface

Read more about our Electro-Hydraulic Actuators and Electro-Mechanical Actuator, or find out how Kyntronics can help meet the demanding requirements of your medical application