La Palma, California – The Innovation Institute introduced two executive leaders of its biomedical engineering firm Tech Knowledge Associates (TKA). George Hampton will serve as president and Jeffery Niederhausen will serve as chief financial officer. Both served in clinical engineering for Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI). Hampton will be based in Dayton, Ohio, and Niederhausen will be based in Cincinnati, Ohio, but will oversee TKA’s operations nationwide.

Hampton has worked in clinical engineering for more than 30 years, performing maintenance and repair on medical imaging equipment and radiation therapy systems in and around Southwest Ohio, and leading teams of clinical engineers for hospitals, including Good Samaritan Hospital, a 400-bed trauma center in Dayton, Ohio. He most recently served as area manager for CHI. Hamptom has also worked with TKA as a consulting director, supporting the TKA leadership team since its launch in 2012. He holds degrees in both biomedical electronics and healthcare leadership from the Kettering College of Medical Arts.  

“As TKA’s new president, one of my primary focuses will be national growth for the company,” said Hampton. “I look forward to sharing TKA’s unique business model, which will provide our clients with guaranteed savings and comprehensive insourced services. TKA will provide highly trained local talent to help eliminate the financial burden of costly service contracts,” added Hampton.

Niederhausen brings 18 years of successful experience with CHI, holding in a variety of accounting/finance roles, and most recently as director of business development and operations. He has also served on the National Leadership for Clinical Engineering group as the voice of accounting and finance. Prior to his extensive service at CHI, Jeff worked with Novare Services, a for-profit clinical engineering firm. 

“I anticipate that showing hospitals the savings and efficiencies they will gain from transitioning to a 24/7 insourced service and maintenance model will be well received, especially during these challenging times that call for both improved care and cost reductions,” said Niederhausen. 

“We are pleased to welcome these outstanding executives to our team, and we look forward to their guidance in improving and expanding TKA’s capabilities,” said Joe Randolph, president and CEO, The Innovation Institute. 

About Tech Knowledge Associates
Tech Knowledge Associates is a national healthcare technology management organization that elevates clinical engineering through innovative management programs, medical equipment life cycle solutions, and service data for large inventories of medical devices that exceed $1 billion in value.

About The Innovation Institute
The Innovation Institute is an independent, for-profit LLC structured to cultivate innovative solutions to transform healthcare delivery. The Innovation Institute is owned by non-profit health systems. This collaborative taps into physicians, employees, and industry business partners to incubate and commercialize new medical products and ideas. Comprised of three distinct elements – an innovation lab, an investment fund, and a shared services group (Enterprise Development Group), The Institute strives to “do more, with less, for more people.” 

Source: Tech Knowledge Associates 

Hannover, Germany and Chicago, Illinois – Security for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) requires a thoughtful plan but is not a showstopper according to exhibitors at the upcoming Industrial Automation North America 2016. The trade show, co-located at IMTS from September 12-17, 2016, at McCormick Place in Chicago, offers a wealth of resources and solutions on IIoT, integrated industry and more.

Industry experts offer 4 IIoT security recommendations
While manufacturers should remain vigilant about security in building an IIoT strategy, it should not prevent moving forward. Four solution providers who will exhibit at Industrial Automation North America 2016 offered these recommendations:

Recommendation #1 – Don’t assume cloud means Internet, Intranet works too
“IIoT doesn’t need to be on the Internet. It can also be run on an Intranet. In fact, you can use both on-premise and publicly accessible clouds,” said Sloan Zupan, senior product manager, Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. “To manage risk, manufacturers should determine the sensitivity level of the information to be shared, who needs access in the organization and then choose the best technology.”

Recommendation #2 – Modernize your security technology
“Although security is a critical issue, it should not prevent a manufacturer from taking advantage of IIoT. A modern security framework requires a holistic defense-in-depth approach that addresses both internal and external threats to minimize vulnerabilities when applied appropriately,” said Beth Parkinson, market development director, The Connected Enterprise, Rockwell Automation. “Manufacturers need to assess current security processes and develop an evolution plan to use modern technology that offers layers and depth of security focusing on physical, network, computer, application and device security.”

Recommendation #3 – Focus on operational requirements, not IT policy
“Operations and IT need to eliminate barriers and work together to create the right security. Although IT provides security, the person in charge of manufacturing operations provides an equally important perspective,” said John Kowal, director, business development, B&R Industrial Automation Corporation. “If operations describes a need, IT needs to consider the business imperative. What the operations team requires must be secured to move the business forward. IT does need to address security threats as they continue to evolve.”

Recommendation #4 – Break down who needs access to what
“Manufacturers need to define basic rules about the access level for consumers of data,” said Greg Giles, executive director of MES, Red Viking. “Within that framework, security needs to be assessed against the potential threat presented by the data. Reasonable mitigation strategies should be implemented based upon the specifics. An application may require a basic web front-end encrypted with SSL, or could require a more stringent user identification system. For more sophisticated needs, servers may be configured in a manner which strikes an appropriate balance between security and ease of access, but, these security decisions start with defining needs.”

IIoT security and more at Industrial Automation North America
IIoT, integrated industry and more will be key themes at Industrial Automation North America 2016, part of the HANNOVER MESSE portfolio. Discussions will mirror the top themes at April’s HANNOVER MESSE 2016, the world’s largest manufacturing trade fair where the U.S. was selected as this year’s partner country. 

“To help manufacturers navigate the Industrial Internet of Things, Industrial Automation North America 2016 offers a robust program focusing on everything from infrastructure to security,” said Larry Turner, president/CEO of Hannover Fairs USA, a subsidiary of Deutsche Messe, the organizer of HANNOVER MESSE. “Whether a manufacturer is at an early stage or more advanced level of IIoT, the show offers a one-stop shop to keep pace with this fast-evolving best practice.”

Source: Hannover Fairs USA

 Sensors in objects read the force applied by a 3D printed hand. The suite of tools created by engineering student at Rice University is intended to help "makers" test the efficiency of the hands they print for children born without fully formed hands. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

The Rice team calling itself Carpal Diem has developed a testing suite to validate how well 3D printed hands transfer force from the wearer, typically a child born without a fully formed hand, to the prosthetic intended to help pick up and manipulate small objects.

(Left) Rice University engineering students are building a testing suite to validate 3-D printed prosthetics for children with congenital partial hands. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

These 3D printed hands have become a source of pride for a community of "makers" who trade designs on the Internet and print hands for children who need them. But the Rice students said the 3D printed prosthetics are not as efficient as they could be.

"Children born without full hands are forced to adapt to the world and figure out how to go about their daily routines," said Rice student Amber Wang. "If a prosthetic hand is not absolutely perfect in its function, the child will probably discard it and return to his or her own adaptive ways."

The team members developed their rig as their senior capstone design project, required of most Rice engineering students. It was on display at last week's George R. Brown School of Engineering Design Showcase, where prizes of up to $5,000 were awarded to the best of more than 80 teams. Gary Woods, a Rice professor in the practice of computer technology and electrical and computer engineering, is the team's faculty adviser, and Rice alumna Carolyn Huff and her husband, Harrell, are the sponsors.

The team's suite consists of a motorized wrist-and-palm assembly that can move up to 60° in either direction, a set of objects (a cylinder, a sphere, and a rectangular prism) with embedded force sensors and a control program with a graphic user interface. An operator uses the program to bend the wrist and close the printed hand's fingers and thumb around an object. Sensors in the object send feedback on force strength and distribution to the computer.

(Right) Rice University engineering student Rachel Sterling monitors as a teammate lines up an object to test the force applied by a 3-D printed hand. Rice students have assembled a suite of tools to validate how well printed hands transfer force from the wearer to the object being gripped. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

Bioengineering majors Nicolette Chamberlain-Simon and Michaela Dimoff, electrical and computer engineering major Nirali Desai and mechanical engineering majors Rachel Sterling and Wang began strategizing even before they returned to Rice for their senior year.

At first, Dimoff said, they thought they would simply design a better hand. "But we realized there were so many designs out there that it was really the force-testing device that needed to happen," Chamberlain-Simon added.

"If a kid has to put in five pounds of force to only get one pound of grip, that's a lot of lost efficiency because of how these hands are designed," Sterling said. "Until we reach a force efficiency of 100%, the hands aren't going to be useful."

"The industry standards for testing these kinds of devices are not very well established," Desai said. "We had to get very creative about how we were going to test the accuracy and precision of our device."

(Right) Members of the Rice University team of engineering student known as Carpal Diem work in the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen on their tools to validate the efficiency of 3-D printed hands. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

"We're designing it so someone working with e-NABLE (the global network of volunteers who design and print these prosthetics) can have one in the lab, print three different prototypes and test them in rapid succession," Dimoff said.

The team hopes to put the first prototype of the testing device and a detailed protocol for its use into the hands of their mentor, Dr. Gloria Gogola, a pediatric hand surgeon at Shriners Hospital for Children-Houston who has worked with many Rice engineering teams in recent years, by the end of the school year.

(Left) A team of Rice University engineering students has developed a testing suite to validate 3-D printed prosthetics for children with congenital partial hands. From left: Rachel Sterling, Amber Wang, Nicolette Chamberlain-Simon, Michaela Dimoff and Nirali Desai. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

"Eventually we want to have specs for people who want to make these devices themselves," Chamberlain-Simon said.

Source: Rice University

Philadephia, Pennsylvania – Last month, America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) held their kick-off meeting for the America Makes & ANSI Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC). The meeting drew close to 90 individuals either attending in person or participating remotely.

Formally launched last month, the AMSC is targeting to produce by the end of 2016 a standardization roadmap for additive manufacturing. The roadmap will identify existing standards and specifications, as well as those in development, assess gaps, and make recommendations for priority areas where there is a perceived need for additional standardization, including in relation to needs already identified in the America Makes Additive Manufacturing Technology Roadmap. Significantly, the group will not be developing standards; rather, the intent is that the roadmap will help facilitate a coordinated approach to the development of standards and specifications for additive manufacturing.

To develop the roadmap, the AMSC agreed to form four primary working groups covering design, process and materials, qualification and certification, and maintenance. The process and materials group will include four subgroups covering precursor materials, process control, post-processing, and finished materials properties. The working groups plan to hold online meetings every two weeks and will hold their first meetings later this month. Further details on the working groups and their co-chairs are available on the AMSC website.