LynuxWorks expands into embedded software for medical devices
29 April 2008
LynuxWorks, Inc., developer of mission-critical embedded software for aerospace and military systems, has announced plans to expand its efforts in the medical technology market.
Its new initiative will target medical device manufacturers, and includes broadening its ecosystem to help support these devices, and working with existing customers that use LynuxWorks’ embedded real-time operating systems.
Aside from already working with medical companies, LynuxWorks’ core embedded operating system/hypervisor technology has been powering security- and safety-critical systems for the military, aerospace and avionics markets, who have similar needs for high reliability and certifiable software products.
“The demand for sophisticated medical systems, from blood analysers to patient monitoring to robotic surgery equipment, is driving software content and growth in the medical device market,” said Steve Balacco, Director for the Embedded Software Practice at Venture Development Corporation.
“Due to the safety-critical nature of medical applications, this market is heavily regulated by government bodies, and therefore requires extensive documentation in all phases of development, testing, and manufacturing. LynuxWorks has positioned their commercial software offerings and leveraged its experience in safety applications to assist medical device manufacturers in reducing time and costs spent on regulatory compliance.”
LynuxWorks CEO and President Gurjot Singh said: “Our larger focus on the medical market is a natural extension of the open, safe, reliable and secure computing we’ve championed since the 1980s. Our ability to meet the stringent certification policies of the Federal Aviation Administration for avionics software also means that our products are well positioned to fulfil the requirements placed by the Food and Drug Administration for medical environments, as well as HIPAA privacy requirements. Device manufacturers can rest assured that there is no platform more tested than those provided by LynuxWorks.”
LynuxWorks’ products offer broad conformance to open and de facto standards including Linux, POSIX and UNIX. LynxOS is the only embedded RTOS with hard real-time performance, which means it absolutely, positively must respond within a set period of time, a key consideration for many life-critical medical devices. Similarly, the company’s BlueCat embedded Linux, based on the 2.6 kernel, is an implementation of Linux that has been enhanced for use in embedded systems ranging from small devices to large-scale, multi-CPU systems.
Other products, such as the LynxSecure separation kernel and embedded hypervisor, could facilitate the security and partitioning required in integrated medical devices, and can also help with the re-use of legacy medical applications on to new hardware platforms.
As part of a broader ecosystem to help support medical customers, LynuxWorks has partnered with American Portwell Technology, which provides both commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and custom solutions for applications in the medical equipment industry, among others. LynuxWorks is also entering into a relationship with Mascon Global Limited who provides solutions and services to the medical industry.
LynuxWorks already has established integral partnerships with leading hardware companies including Intel Corp, Xilinx and Freescale, who have solutions that meet the needs of both medical and the more traditional embedded industry.
