Together with experts from the WIN Partner Network, WILD developed an innovative high-power xenon light source for surgical microscopes in near-record time.

Neurosurgery is considered one of the most demanding specialist areas in medicine. A supreme art, if you will. The same applies to the devices used for such surgical interventions. The requirements are formidable: highly complex technologies, ever more stringent regulations and standards and ever-increasing time and cost pressure. Those venturing into such projects must have quick access to a comprehensive pool of expert knowledge.

This is precisely what WILD did when a renowned medical technology manufacturer approached the systems partner in April 2017. Their plan was to develop an innovative high-power xenon light source for use in neurological interventions. The main challenge was that the UV component in light can cause injuries during surgery. Especially in the case of procedures on the brain, the burning of tissue may even lead to the death of a patient. For this reason, the light source had to meet the requirements of safety class C according to IEC 62304. In addition to the development of the software and the electronic components, one also had to tackle thermal and FE simulation as well as mechanical design.

Quick access to leading edge knowledge

For WILD project manager Franz Rittmannsberger, the choice was clear: this was a case for the WILD Integrated Network (WIN). „After an internal analysis of the broad requirements, we picked out those Partners from the WIN experts matrix who should be involved in this project“, explains Rittmannsberger. Only two weeks later, all of the players had been identified and the distribution of tasks defined. After all, WILD has Access to detailed information on the expertise of all WIN partners and the corresponding agreements have all been settled. The partner companies are in a „standby position“ so that a quick project start is guaranteed.

In addition to the Wernberg and Photonic sites that will provide support in the concept phase, WILD took three WIN partners on board for the development of the high-power light source: 4a engineering for the Simulation and dimensioning of the cooling system, Duller & Partner for the implementation of the technical concepts in CAD and CDE GmbH for the development of electronic components and software. Coordination of timetables, compilation of all regulatory Topics and delivery of bundled information to the customer were all done centrally from Völkermarkt. The main focuswas on coordinating the development processes with each other and integrating them in the central process defined by WILD. An essential element was the establishment of traceability between the requirements and the related verification tests. „This all-in-one solution enabled the customer to outsource its product development up to Serial production while maintaining a single contact Partner throughout the entire process“, says Rittmannsberger.

Particular technical challenges and implementation

The light output of the new xenon light source is significantly higher than other systems currently available on the market. In order to implement this higher requirement in the same installation space, it was necessary to develop an adaptive cooling system. „In the flow simulation, we were able to demonstrate that a system with four fans regulated according to the respective thermal load is best-suited“, says Christoph Weinberger of 4a engineering. In the Initial stage, Weinberger and his team carried out an „incompressible computational fluid dynamics (ICFD) simulation“ to illustrate theflow through the light source. After that, using the finite element method, they determined those areas in which hot spots are created in the system. Validation of the results from these simulations took place in the WILD laboratory using measurements on a functional sample.

Tackling the required high ignition voltage of the Xenon light source was a special challenge for CDE GmbH. „We had to accommodate electronic components and power components on a single board, while avoiding destructive voltage spikes jumping from one system to the other“, Jürgen Nußbaummüller recalls. Thanks to the collaboration with the WIN players, WILD was able to produce a first prototype of this new high-power light source after just 13 months. Serial production will begin at WILD‘s Völkermarkt site in October 2018.