Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493797
MARCH 2023 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 49 Aer it is accepted, working it is quite simple, but we do offer ongoing support. What are the purchase costs? Roughly, it's a five-figure cost upfront with an annual license for the soware, which gets you full support and soware upgrades. Based on our experience, that's an order of magni- tude less than AOI, which is typically six fig- ures. We can offer this because we use low- cost, off-the-shelf hardware components. In addition to the AI, we have custom computa- tional imaging algorithms that have been tai- lored to PCB image analysis. In addition to his AI work, Professor Wong, whom I mentioned earlier, has quite a deep background in com- putational vision and computational imag- ing algorithms. Under his guidance, our team developed significant proprietary IP for our solution. With AI technology such as this, why did you choose to specialize in the EMS market? Every time we go to an EMS company and I meet a senior leader, I ask how they got into this. I'm so curious because not many people say, "Yeah, I'm going to manufacture printed circuit boards; that's what I want to do." For us, it was half happenstance; our clients were doing it and they identified a real need. We just saw it as a challenge. Nobody was doing it, so could we develop AI for it? at was fasci- nating to us. My wife is a psychiatrist, and she was trying to wrap her head around exactly what we've been doing. I explained to her how a PCB goes into almost everything, from the kettle that we just bought, to the toaster to our car. Imagine being able to generate these more efficiently; we're creating the manufac- turing engine for the next wave of industries. at really appealed to us. Thanks for the conversation, Sheldon. My pleasure. ank you. SMT007 Northwestern University researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind small, flexible, stretch- able bandage that accelerates healing by deliver- ing electrotherapy directly to the wound site. In an animal study, the new bandage healed diabetic ulcers 30% faster than in mice without the bandage. The bandage also actively monitors the heal- ing process and then harmlessly dissolves—elec- trodes and all—into the body after it is no longer needed. The new device could provide a power- ful tool for patients with diabetes, whose ulcers can lead to various complications, including amputated limbs or even death. Nearly 30 million people in the U.S. have diabe- tes, and about 15 to 25% of that population devel- ops a diabetic foot ulcer at some point in their lives. Because diabetes can cause nerve dam- age that leads to numbness, people with diabetes might experience a simple blister or small scratch that goes unnoticed and untreated. As high glu- cose levels also thicken capillary walls, blood cir- culation slows, making it more difficult for these wounds to heal. It's a perfect storm for a small injury to evolve into a dangerous wound. The researchers were curious to see if elec- trical stimulation therapy could help close these stubborn wounds. By applying electrical stimula- tion, it restores the body's normal signals, attract- ing new cells to migrate to the wound bed. (Source: Northwestern University) First Transient Electronic Bandage Speeds Healing by 30%