Medical centrifuges and incubators
Andreas Hettich GmbH & Co. KG from Tuttlingen (D) manufactures laboratory centrifuges and incubators for various applications in medicine and laboratories. Ginzinger electronic systems supported Hettich in troubleshooting and problem solving when sporadic failures occurred in operating devices of the incubators.
Linux in medicine
Hettich has been relying on embedded systems with Linux as the operating system for several years. Embedded Linux systems are characterized by stability, robustness and longevity due to their widespread use in various application areas. The philosophy of Linux as open source software offers many degrees of freedom, but also requires a lot of detailed knowledge about the software architecture of the operating system.
Sporadic failures
SD cards are used in the operating devices of Hettich incubators to record operating data. Sporadic failures occurred with these during operation. Troubleshooting proved to be particularly difficult because the failures were difficult to reproduce and occurred extremely rarely. Since Hettich could not explain the cause of the malfunction even after thorough testing, the Tuttlingen-based company sought advice and help for troubleshooting from Ginzinger electronic systems.
Ginzinger electronic systems has its own development department with many years of experience in developing hardware and software for embedded Linux platforms. In doing so, Ginzinger has already worked with well-known companies in medical technology and knows the demanding regulatory requirements for devices in this market.
Fast and competent support
The experts at Ginzinger recreated this error pattern in the laboratory. SD cards are based on FLASH memory technology. FLASH memory cells cannot be written to as often as desired, so the memory capacity of the cards shrinks over the operating time.
Normally, users do not notice this process because the memory cards' electronics, drivers and operating system ensure that individual memory cells are not written to as often as desired and broken memory cells are no longer used. These mechanisms depend on the quality of the SD cards used as well as the configuration of the software drivers and the operating system. Incompatibilities of versions of individual software components often lead to apparently inexplicable problems.
Henri Roosen from the Ginzinger project team was able to quickly discover and isolate the error. To eliminate the failures sustainably, the embedded Linux variant installed at Hettich was replaced by the Ginzinger-Embedded-Linux-Distribution „GELin“. The Ginzinger team ported the system to the hardware, which was supplied by a third-party vendor. Ginzinger ensured that the software components and SD cards matched and supported Hettich to avoid any further failures.
After the porting was completed, endurance tests were carried out with Hettich's incubators to ensure the long-term stability of the system. In the meantime, the new software system based on GELin runs without problems on Hettich's incubators.
Embedded Linux projects at Hettich
Ongoing support
Hettich is continuously supported by Ginzinger electronic systems in various projects. The developers at Hettich can thus concentrate specifically on the customer benefits of their centrifuges and incubators. Ginzinger takes care of the long-term robust and stable platform, the foundation of Hettich devices.
"Nothing is worse than infrequent bugs on devices that have already shipped. Our application developers didn't have the capacity to delve into the depths of the Linux system and we were sent in circles by the third-party vendors. The Ginzinger technicians quickly and competently took care of the error analysis and quickly provided a stable solution to the problem."
Medical technology from Tuttlingen
Andreas Hettich GmbH & Co KG
Andreas Hettich GmbH & Co. KG. is a leading manufacturer of laboratory centrifuges, which are used in clinical chemistry, research or also in industrial applications, as well as incubators, which are used as incubators and refrigerated incubators in a wide variety of designs.
Many years of experience at Ginzinger
Embedded systems in medical technology
Ginzinger electronic systems has already successfully realized many projects in medical technology. The combination of hardware and software development from a single source, coupled with decades of knowhow in the production of electronic assemblies, represents the optimal solution for customers to quickly realize stable, industry-ready products.
Electronics and embedded systems are core components of today's medical technology. For design, development and production of embedded systems and electronics in medical technology, knowledge in many disciplines is necessary.
- Standards & Certification
- Easy operation and optimal use
- Measurement technology, sensors and actuators
- Mobility, energy management and computing power
- Connectivity und Security
