An Automatic Advantage for Medical Device Manufacturers

Advancements in AI, robotics, and machine vision systems are helping medtech firms scale operations efficiently and manage the complexities of advanced device designs.

Talk about aiming high. Literally.

European aerospace manufacturer Airbus SE is striving to achieve a lofty goal it set for itself more than half a decade ago: doubling output and halving production time.

The target—20,000 fully constructed aircraft over 20 years—would have seemed unrealistic a mere 10 years ago, but technological progress has turned that erstwhile fantasy into a tangible reality. And that reality is quickly transforming the manufacturing process.

Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) are turning classic manufacturing plants into smart factories with highly interconnected production systems powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics.

One of the newer propellants powering these smart factories is augmented reality (AR), a technology that blends digital content with the physical world in real time. In manufacturing, AR seamlessly incorporates digital technologies into the production operation, enabling workers to perform tasks more efficiently and accurately, reducing the risk of errors, and improving quality control.

Airbus’ introduction to mixed reality manufacturing dates back nearly a decade, but the Dutch firm did not integrate the advancement into its operational workflow until it teamed with Microsoft about five years ago. The company uses Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 headset to help its workers efficiently and ergonomically execute their duties. The headset uses eye-tracking technology to detect the user’s gaze and display relevant content, automatically scrolling as the user reads.

Microsoft’s mixed reality technology has perhaps proven most beneficial for Airbus’ production line staff, as it allows them to access critical data while keeping their hands free. The headset overlays digital information like instructions or diagrams onto real machinery to help workers complete complex or hard-to-reach tasks. Airbus estimates Microsoft’s mixed-reality tool has enabled the company to slash manufacturing time by one-third while simultaneously improving quality.

“Mixed reality can help us increase quality, safety, and security,” Jean-Brice Dumont, now head of Air Power at Airbus Defense & Space, noted upon the start of his company’s more ambitious manufacturing target. “The level of human error is significantly reduced, and in aerospace, increased quality is increased safety—and needless to say, security goes with that. By having the right information at the right time in hands-free mode, not only does quality increase but also safety. This is what we are looking for.”

Dumont isn’t the only seeker of better quality and safety. His counterparts in healthcare are pursuing the same goals with identical tools.

Stereo microscopes, for example, are now equipped with augmented reality (AR) modules that help streamline complicated manufacturing tasks. Much like Microsoft’s HoloLens 2, these AR microscopes overlay text, images, videos, and measurements into the eyepieces’ visual field. Such faculties help improve workflow efficiency by projecting standard operating procedures directly into the microscope’s line of sight, thereby allowing medical device assemblers to check instructions without diverting their focus.

In addition to its resource utilization prowess, AR microscopes also can help solve manufacturing snafus in real time. Third-party collaboration software such as Microsoft Teams can help diagnose and solve production issues by enabling real-time communication between assemblers and off-site managers or engineers. The software allows both parties to share the microscope eyepiece view and conspire on a solution.

AR also can be a useful preventative tool. Using AR-enabled glasses or headsets, manufacturing plant managers can walk the factory floor and instantly acquire production data about the parts and/or devices being built and the robots/machine work cell responsible for their assembly. This particular proficiency allows the manager to ensure that production is adhering to quality, regulatory, and output goals, and verify that equipment is operating properly.

Mixed reality isn’t only beneficial to humans, though. The technology can augment robotics by revealing a robot’s next move(s) and where a human operator may join in to perform their duties.

Perhaps one of the most valuable uses for mixed reality manufacturing technology is employee training, as AR can narrow the sizable skilled labor gap in medtech by improving on-site training.

AR microscopes can offer assistance in this area as well. Collaboration software enables both trainers and trainees to share the microscope’s vision field so guidance can be provided in real time and annotations and training videos can be added directly in the mutual sightline.

To discover the other benefits of mixed reality and artificial intelligence in manufacturing assembly/automation as well as the other market forces impacting the sector, Medical Product Outsourcing spoke to more than a half-dozen experts over the last few weeks.

Michael Barbella: What market drivers are impacting medtech assembly/automation trends?

Mark Paggioli: Labor and workforce implications—both the availability of people and what workforce is available, tends to be less skilled than what was available over the past few years. This is having an impact on what manufacturers are looking for in equipment and in some cases, we’ve also seen (heard) considerations of outsourcing labor. Additionally, what it means for companies that are looking to increase or bring more production back to the U.S. Also, meeting/understanding demand and production performance levels, the cost of things while taking an approach to meet demand vs. exceeding it like years ago or having additional capacity that they would fill down the road as demand comes up.

Barbella: What new innovations have been developed for medical device assembly and automation? What specific market needs to they address?

Brian Romano: We have been experiencing market hesitancy where companies are looking more to go through proof of concept and value, taking the project is smaller, and more risk averse stages. This may not be an innovation but is rather a recall from proven methods. AGR, both in Bristol and through its new acquisition in North Carolina, has the ability to provide all the POC, manual, semi-automatic, and fully automatic stages that the customer requires. Additionally, the further utilization of flexible machinery based on increased robotic integration combined with start of the art AI vision inspection provides the customer with a system that is adaptable to their needs, at whatever stage of the automation roadmap they may be on.

Barbella: How is AI and/or machine learning being integrated into medical device assembly and automation?

Romano: AI allows companies to use historical data to predict future events using real time data. Driven by IIoT sensors, derived or soft sensors, and existing process information, AI can look beyond KPIs of process into the machine health. One of the components of OEE is availability, and the ability to predict when to bring down a machine, and do so gracefully and planned, yields a quicker turnaround time to bring the machine back into operation. This planned action can help to mitigate rush shipments of parts due to catastrophic failure while also allowing JIT delivery of spare parts, thereby minimizing spare parts inventory. As an OEM, AGR preps a machine for this level of AI analysis by installing the needed KPI sensors along with a layer of machine health IIoT sensor, coupled with PLC programming to generate soft sensor information.

Barbella: How has medtech automation impacted workforce skills requirements?

Paggioli: Seeing a bit of two camps here. Some companies are continuing to train and invest in employees, both to train up to fill the skills gap created by those retiring and to provide training specific to technologies that are changing. These companies leverage the partnership with their machine builders to provide training and to keep it specific to the needs of the equipment they’ll operate and troubleshoot. The other camp, their approach is to ask for machine builders to provide equipment that is designed around the acceptance of a workforce that is less skilled and where employee turnover will be an ongoing problem. Their solution is to accept this reality and instead to focus on minimizing the issue through the design.

Romano: Additionally, the leaning on OEMs to provide support moves to support using field service or company onsite technicians instead of field service engineers through the employment of technologies such as augmented reality. Here the onsite technician has rapid access to subject matter experts at the OEM, thereby reducing response time for a downtime event or other issue. Here the technician donned in VR provides the onsite technical extension to the remote support engineer. Many technical high schools and community colleges around the country have begun to implement mechatronics or automation system curriculums, providing a path for the needed technician level of onsite support. Control Systems Engineering is currently experiencing approximately a 1% unemployment rate, so this higher level of skills and knowledge are still very difficult to attain.

To explore the full MPO conversation — including perspectives from additional industry leaders — continue reading the complete feature on Medical Product Outsourcing.