The Importance of Quality CD-R Media in the Medical Environment
In just a few years, use of CD-R media has gone from an expensive, high-end data storage solution to a mainstream one. Industry and home consumers are using CD-R media for everything from data storage to music to video storage.
While CD-R media consumption in the medical industry will be relatively small in comparison to these other segments, the overall size of the CD-R media business will entice many new manufacturers to enter the market. Many of these manufacturers, however, will have a difficult time producing quality media that is capable of performing to specification on a consistent basis.
TDK has spent 20 years developing and producing CD-R media. With that experience, TDK has controls and procedures in place to insure compatibility, longevity and quality in each piece of media it produces. With the new media manufacturers, however, the medical industry could become a testing ground for poorly produced media.
It is extremely important that the medical end user become educated to the potential pitfalls of using inferior media.
Here's a look at the potential problems with CD-R media:
CD-R dye material can have a profound effect on the performance and longevity of the CD-R disc.
Inferior recording dye formulations cause compatibility problems with existing readers and writers. To insure compatibility, TDK has a comprehensive testing program for all its CD-R media. "Manufacturers with less emphasis on quality will probably not make the necessary investment to insure the needed compatibility. TDK, therefore, foresees a scenario in which some media will not work with all readers and writers. This problem will come to the forefront as new media manufacturers enter the market in the next few years.
Proper instruction is necessary to prevent mishandling.
Like other medical devices CD-R media should come with proper labeling to prevent misuse. The media, instructions and packaging should carry the appropriate warnings and precautions for storage and use. TDK complies with all of the necessary labeling requirements from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Union (EU)
Mishandling of a CD-R usually results in scratches, dust, dirt, fingerprints, or smudges. Scratches are of the most concern and can damage data. The most common problem is scratching the polycarbonate substrate (or the recording side of the disc). This can cause the data to become unreadable due to errors.
Damage or scratches on the label side can be more serious. TDK has a protective coat to guard against scratches on this side of the disc. A scratch on the label side can very easily penetrate the recording layer causing data to be permanently lost.
Dust, dirt, fingerprints and smudges are also a concern because they can increase the error rate, which affects the readability of the CD-R. (Keep in mind that the manufacturer should approve solvents and cleaning fluids before using.) Heat and humidity can affect the dimensional characteristics and/or the expected lifetime of the CD-R. Sunlight exposure can affect the expected lifetime of the CD-R and should be minimized to achieve maximum life.
Contamination free delivery of media is extremely important to the integrity of the recording.
TDK ships most of its CD-R products to the medical industry packed in a specially designed caddy. The caddy eliminates the possibility of someone mishandling the virgin media before the recording is complete.
Why is this important? When a CD-R is recorded, a laser burns pits into the recording layer. During the recording process it is normal for errors to occur. These faults are corrected by error correction circuitry built into the CD-R recorder. If contamination exists on a CD-R, such as oils, dirt, fingerprints, etc., the error rate can grow. If the error rate grows beyond the capabilities of the recorder's error correction scheme, there can be a loss of data and a file could become unreadable. Therefore, TDK feels media shipment in a caddy should be a prerequisite for the medical industry since there is not the luxury of time to repeat procedures or recordings if data is lost because of contamination.
Quality control in the production of CD-R media cannot be stressed enough.
The CD-R substrate must be of the highest purity and quality. A slight contamination may result in an uncorrectable error after the disc has aged for only a short time. Further, the dye coating must be free from defects and controlled to tight tolerances in order to have error free performance. Injection molding, stamper quality and overcoating are also very critical. In fact, there's no aspect of the CD-R manufacturing process that does not have to be tightly controlled. At TDK, whole process is conducted in a state of the art cleanroom to protect against unacceptable media.
Vendor Testing.
CD-R recording is truly an art form with an enormous amount of variables making up the recording process. The application software, recorder, blank media and the reader all play a significant part in the overall production of a useable data disc. Manufacturers of medical equipment test all of these variables and validate individual components through comprehensive analysis. Manufacturers make a determination on which combination of components chosen provides the best patient outcome. Therefore, it is important for the medical end user to respect this determination when making purchase choices.
(Source: Medical Grade Facts. TDK Medical Website. April 15, 2007. http://www.tdk.com/medical/support/importance.html.)
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