Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1053050
NOVEMBER 2018 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 23 the idea of radiation treatment intimidated me at first with all kinds of mental images of science fiction scenarios that didn't end well. However, these are wonderful people in a pro- fessional facility using state-of-the-art technol- ogy to heal their patients, and my family and I are incredibly grateful to them. Radiation therapy has been around for over a hundred years in one form or another, but it wasn't until the late 1970s when computers were first used to help with the controllability of the treatment. This opened up a new era in the history of radiation therapy [1] , and it meant that there needed to be a lot more elec- tronic design to accompany it. Just looking at that machine made me want to peek inside to see what kind of technology it held, but I don't think that the staff would have been too happy if I started poking around with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. As PCB designers, many of us have done work in the medical field. Many years ago, I worked on some of the first wearable devices for measuring your pulse rate, and the tech- nology has grown far beyond that since then. Some of you are working on flex designs that put different sensors and treatment dispensers into wearable devices that merge medical and IoT technologies. Others of you are working on high-speed and HDI designs that are used in computer electronics for medical equipment. There's also the circuitry for high-power appli- cations and everything else that goes into mak- ing a complicated machine, such as a radio- therapy treatment delivery system. Fortunately, designers now have the tools to design the next level of technology needed for the medical field. PCB design systems today are well equipped to handle the needs of every- thing from small flex circuits to large multi- layer HDI designs. There are a lot of people who did tons of work to create these electronic medical wonders. I am truly in awe about how much design has been done by many individu- als over time that has filtered down to our little corner of the world, and I cannot tell you how happy I am to see the reality of PCB design in the real world helping Mom to beat cancer. It doesn't get any more real than that. All of this has left me with a couple of thoughts. The first one is this: perhaps what you are designing isn't in the medical field, but chances are that it will help someone, some- where, somehow. To put it simply, what you do matters. At times, it may seem that all of the colored circles and lines of a PCB design on your computer screen have less relevance in life than the latest zombie apocalypse video game, but don't listen to those voices of doubt in your head. Trust me when I say that what you do matters, so keep doing it—we all need you. The second thought is that there is more to life than our work. During this difficult time, we have been supported by the help of our neighbors and the love of our family and friends. Our bosses have worked with us to help us manage our work schedules with doc- tor appointments, and our co-workers have supported us where they can. Many others have come together and even brought us food. You all are amazing people. Thank you. I think Editor Andy Shaughnessy summed it up well when he encouraged me, "Take care of what you have to do. The circuit boards will still be there." Those are my thoughts, and as always, fight the good fight and keep designing. As for me, it's time to turn out the lights and get some sleep. Oh wait, that's not a light, that's just Mom softly glowing from the radiation in the other room. In case you were wondering, she will read this and probably throw something at me. I'm going to start running now. DESIGN007 References 1. S. Gianfaldoni, R. Gianfaldoni, U. Wollina, J. Lotti, G. Tch- ernev, & T. Lotti. "An Overview of Radiotherapy: From Its His- tory to Its Current Applications in Dermatology." U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 2017. Tim Haag is a PCB design consultant based in Portland, Oregon. To read past columns or contact Haag, click here.