Interface is a trusted leader in providing sensor technologies to the medical and healthcare industry. Interface provides test and measurement solutions for research, medical device testing, equipment monitoring and for use in components. When safety matters, Interface provides the quality and accuracy the medical and health industry demands.
Medical device and health care product engineers and manufacturers turn to Interface because our measurement solutions are designed for precision test and measurement applications, in both quality and reliability. There is also a high demand for Interface’s ability to customize solutions to meet the exact requirements of these sensitive medical and healthcare applications.
Medical device manufacturers need to meet and be accredited before test equipment is approved for use. The medical devices being tested also must pass strict inspections and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regulations in the US before meeting the requirements necessary to bring a product, device, implant, or machine to market.
Interface offers various miniature beam and in-line load cell solutions with 10x overload protection to protect patients and devices against accidental shock loads. Our torque transducers provide rotary and reactive measurement to accurately track light movements required to control prosthetic fatigue testing, surgical equipment, knee or hip replacement, and other medical devices. Other Interface solutions include multi-axis sensors for multiple channels of measurement in one housing when you require measurements for two, three or six axis points.
Read more about healthcare and medical applications in our case study: Interface Ensures Premium Accuracy and Reliability for Medical Applications
In the medical and healthcare industries, the significance of precision and dependability grows immensely when lives are at stake. Medical devices and healthcare products, which rank among the most intricate and fragile technologies globally, must adhere to strict regulations and certification standards to ensure compliance. This begins at early R&D and testing, through production and distribution.
Throughout a pharmaceutical product’s life cycle, specialized equipment and sensor technologies are used by manufacturers, in both design and maintenance to provide unmistakable evidence of process quality and safety. Medical and health care product manufacturers, including pharmaceutical companies, turn to Interface because our high accuracy force measurement solutions are designed for reliable performance test and measurement projects. There is also tremendous demand for Interface’s ability to customize solutions that meet the exact measurement requirements of these sensitive applications.
Common Interface Products Used by Pharmaceutical Companies
Interface provides force measurement solutions for a wide variety of products and machines that help biotechnology and pharmaceutical product engineers to design, test and manufacture devices of all shapes and sizes. When it comes to equipment used in the manufacturing of medicine, Interface products are used to optimize production and reduce waste.
Weighing and Distribution: Load cells are commonly used in pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities for accurately measuring and dispensing ingredients during the formulation process. They ensure precise measurements of active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients, which is crucial for maintaining the quality and efficacy of the final product.
Tablet Hardness Testing: Tablet hardness is an important characteristic as it influences factors like disintegration, dissolution, and overall drug delivery effectiveness. Load cells are used in tablet hardness testers to precisely quantify the force required to break or fracture a tablet.
Tablet Forming Machine Optimization: These machines need to be finely tuned to ensure consistent tablet quality, weight, and other critical attributes. Load cells play a vital role in this optimization process by providing real-time force and weight measurements during tablet compression.
Capsule Filling Machines: Load cells are used in capsule filling machines to measure the weight of the powdered or granulated material being filled into each capsule. This ensures that each capsule contains the correct amount of medication, contributing to accurate dosing.
Quality Control: Load cells are used in quality control processes to verify the weight and consistency of the final pharmaceutical products. This helps ensure that products meet regulatory standards and maintain consistent quality.
Mixing: In the pharmaceutical industry, proper mixing and blending of ingredients are critical to achieving uniformity in formulations. Load cells are used in mixing equipment to monitor the force exerted on the mixture, ensuring that ingredients are thoroughly and uniformly blended.
Packaging and Filling: Load cells are employed in packaging and filling processes to accurately measure the weight of the product being filled into containers such as bottles, vials, and blister packs. This helps prevent underfilling or overfilling of products, ensuring proper dosing for patients.
Bioreactors and Fermenters: In the production of biopharmaceuticals and vaccines, load cells are used in bioreactors and fermenters to monitor the weight of the culture medium and cells. This information is crucial for controlling and optimizing the growth conditions of microorganisms or cells used in the production process.
When it comes to product development in the United States, both medical devices and pharmaceuticals are required to not only adhere to stringent FDA regulations, but they must also be proven to safe and effective to doctors and patients. Similarly, these essential safety testing prerequisites are universally standard in most developed nations when seeking pre-release approvals.
Consult with our application engineers to see what type of products will meet your stringent requirements.
The medical industry is complex and diversified across many sectors from devices to hospitals, pharmaceuticals to therapy equipment. The medical device sector is one of the largest in medical device and healthcare, estimated at $500B in value globally and growing.
Interface understands the intricacies and dependencies of precision measurements for use in medical devices. Our products are used in life sustaining and saving equipment, across various classifications to measure force, weight, torque, and other critical parameters.
The dependence on accuracy and reliability increases tenfold in the med device world. Any design flaws or failures could present serious health risks or worse. Interface has been a trusted partner to medical OEMs and healthcare technology providers around the world for decades. Our strain gage sensors meet the demands of the medical device industry, as quality and precision are inherently designed and engineered into every transducer and instrument we build.
Medical Devices and Equipment Using Interface Measurement Solutions
From initial R&D, through design and prototyping, Interface products have a role. When testing any product used for medical purposes, there are many stringent standards and regulations defining the entire process. The quality, accuracy and durability of any testing sensor technology must withstand the rigorous protocols defined by the industry, product, manufacturer, and ultimate user.
Types of Interface Products Used for Medical Device Testing
Contact our experienced medical device sensor experts to help select the right solution for your testing projects and devices.
In-home healthcare involves providing medical and support services to individuals outside a medical facility. Medical industry innovations, including wearable devices, remote monitoring devices, pharmaceutical management tools, and therapy equipment, are driving the adoption of sensor-enablement technologies.
Interface’s load cells, torque transducers, and multi-axis sensors were designed to test medical devices and equipment used for in-home care, ensuring the efficacy and safety of this equipment before it reaches consumers. Our Mini Load Cells, including our WMC, S-Types, SSMs, and LBM models, are frequently used by healthcare device manufacturers due to their simple incorporation into existing and new products.
Interface sensor technologies are used for various medical devices in homes and care facilities, including lifts, beds, fluid management, and rehabilitation equipment. These products require extremely accurate measurements before they are approved for use. Interface knows the demands of providing reliable, quality, and durable solutions to meet these requirements.
Implementing Interface’s load cells in device design, R&D, and testing enhances precision, safety, and quality in developing in-home healthcare devices.
Interface Supports In-Home Health Care Applications
In-home healthcare devices are used for individuals recovering from surgery, managing chronic conditions, or those with disabilities who require assistance with daily activities.
Interface force measurement solutions are helping to improve patients’ home care and well-being. Interface continues to provide the medical industry with the most accurate and reliable force measurement products for research and development, at-home equipment testing, and embedding sensors for continuous measurement.
Interface engineers provide standard, custom, and OEM sensor products for testing and easy integration into in-home medical devices and equipment. Consult with our application engineers to find the right solution for your in-home healthcare product requirements.
The medical industry turns to Interface for force measurement solutions for medical device and healthcare product design, development, and testing. This is especially true for rehabilitation equipment used in clinics, hospitals, nursing and home health care facilities, and sports treatment centers.
Rehabilitation encompasses a broad spectrum of conditions, aiming to restore function and improve the quality of life for individuals facing physical or cognitive impairments. Interface load cells, torque transducers, multi-axis sensors, and instrumentation provide highly accurate data that optimize or validate rehabilitation equipment for patient use.
Significant growth is occurring in the design, testing, and building of rehabilitation equipment, fueled by an aging population, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and technological advancements in rehabilitation devices. Interface provides various sensor options for research, development, manufacturing, and performance monitoring, from miniature load cells to advanced multi-axis sensors.
The demand for home-based rehabilitation devices is also increasing rapidly. This trend is driven by patient preference, cost-effectiveness, and advancements in telehealth technologies. Many of these devices rely heavily on sensors to monitor patient progress, provide feedback, and ensure safety, which aligns well with Interface’s expertise in sensor solutions.
In rehabilitation, Interface’s load cells are embedded within exercise equipment and wearable devices to measure the force exerted by a patient during therapy. Therapists can use the Interface wireless instrumentation to monitor and record patient progress. They can track improvements in muscle strength and movement patterns across different exercises and activities while measuring performance using sensor technologies.
Rehabilitation Equipment and Device Use Cases for Interface Solutions
Interface sensor technologies are used in equipment to treat various conditions ranging from neurological events like stroke and traumatic brain injury, where patients require assistance regaining motor skills, balance, and coordination, to musculoskeletal injuries such as fractures and sprains, where the focus is on restoring strength, mobility, and range of motion.
Application: Treadmill Rehabilitation
Interface-designed force sensors are used in rehabilitation treadmills for patients with pelvic mobility difficulties. For example, patients who have had strokes tend to have trouble walking. The goal is to measure the forces applied on the pelvis when the patient walks on the treadmill and catch any pelvic deviations. The treadmill had a special harness with two actuators on either side of the patient. Interface suggests installing two WMC Sealed Stainless Steel Miniature Load Cells on the actuators to measure the forces applied to the patient’s pelvis. The SI-USB4 4-Channel USB Interface Module graphs and logs the results using supplied VS3 software. Using this solution, the rehabilitation equipment maker has a solution to catch different pelvic deviations in their experimental rehabilitation treadmill using Interface’s products.
By integrating advanced sensor technologies like those offered by Interface, you can create devices that are more effective, safer, and more personalized. Force measurement solutions, for example, can provide valuable data for gait analysis, prosthetic fitting, and robotic exoskeleton control, enabling precise monitoring and optimization of treatment. Similarly, torque sensors can enhance the functionality of isokinetic dynamometers and rehabilitation robots, facilitating accurate measurement of strength, endurance, and range of motion. By embracing these technologies, manufacturers can differentiate their products, improve patient outcomes, and drive innovation in the rapidly evolving field of rehabilitation.
Emotional Support Robots (ESRs) are an emerging segment within the field of robotics. These machines are designed for companionship, emotional interaction, and psychological support.
ESRs are increasingly found in elder care facilities, hospitals, educational settings, and private residences. Their primary purpose is to provide comfort, reduce loneliness, and promote mental wellness by engaging users through touch, speech, and motion.
How Interface Sensor Technologies Support Advancements in ESRs
Interface’s precision force measurement technologies are utilized throughout the design, structural engineering, testing and functionality monitoring of emotional support robots.
Interface provides measurement technologies, when integrated into the robot, enable ESRs to sense touch, grip, motion, and physical feedback in real-time. These sensors are integral to touch sensitivity and human interaction, safe physical feedback and actuator and limb controls.
For example, miniature load cells and multi-axis sensors are embedded in the robot’s hands, torsos, or any part that manages sensory responses. These sensors allow the robot to detect human touch. This tactile feedback is essential in making the robot’s reactions feel natural and emotionally intelligent.
Types of Emotional Support Robots
Interface integrated sensors are primarily used to ensure the safety of physical interactions. Force-sensitive components regulate the pressure a robot applies when engaging with users, particularly vulnerable individuals like the elderly, children, or those with cognitive impairments. These sensors monitor contact force in real time, preventing the robot from exerting too much pressure and thereby protecting users from accidental harm.
Interface is a trusted partner in this sector because of its commitment to engineering sensors that meet the unique demands of human-centric robotics. Interface sensors are designed to perform reliably in applications where both safety and sensitivity are paramount.
As ESRs continue to evolve, the need for lifelike interaction will only grow. Interface’s sensor technology empowers these machines to understand and respond to human presence in a way that is both safe and emotionally meaningful.
The global prosthetics and orthotics market is experiencing significant growth and is projected to reach US$12.6B by 2033. This expansion is fueled by technological advancements, an aging population, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and a strong focus on enhancing patient mobility and well-being.
Innovations such as 3D printing, AI-driven prosthetics, and neural interfaces are revolutionizing the field, enabling customized devices that improve the fit and functionality. While orthotics currently hold a larger market share, prosthetics are the faster-growing segment due to rapid technological innovations, including myoelectric limbs and advanced sensory feedback systems.
How Sensor Tech is Used in Prosthetics
Interface sensor technologies are pivotal in developing, designing, and testing modern prosthetics, enabling a more natural and intuitive user experience. By capturing biological signals and mechanical forces, they provide crucial feedback for interpreting user intent and offering immediate data on pressure, touch, temperature, and limb position. This real-time information enhances prosthetic proprioception and dexterity, allowing devices to adjust to user movement and environmental conditions dynamically. Furthermore, sensor data aids therapists in refining movements, informs device improvements, and facilitates remote monitoring of rehabilitation progress.
Test and Measurement Applications in Prosthetics
Interface Products for Design, Test, and Use of Prosthetics
Interface specializes in high-precision force measurement solutions, making them highly relevant for integration into advanced testing of prosthetic systems. Interface’s miniature load cells, universal low profiles, torque transducers, and multi-axis sensors are well-suited for testing and integrating prosthetic devices, particularly in meeting the requirements for varying measurement capacity, accuracy, durability, and compact size. Interface products used in prosthetic applications include:
Interface’s precision force and torque sensors are crucial for advancing prosthetic technology across various applications. Our miniature load cells enhance lower limb prosthetics through real-time gait analysis, while micro force sensors in upper limb devices improve dexterity with precise grip feedback.
Interface sensors are also essential for monitoring prosthetic socket fit and comfort, preventing tissue damage with accurate pressure mapping. Additionally, our torque transducers facilitate smooth, natural movements in robotic prosthetic joints. In research and development, high-accuracy Interface load cells are vital for biomechanical analysis and validating new prosthetic designs, ensuring their safety and effectiveness.
Interface excels in providing products that support the prosthetic medical sector’s growth, advancement, and customization. The extensive range of applications in prosthetic R&D, testing, and feedback is perfect for Interface’s highly accurate, reliable force and torque measurement solutions.
Load cells and sensor technologies play a foundational role in biomechanics, enabling precise measurement of the forces and torques acting on the human body during movement. These sensors are essential for advancing research and development related to joint mechanics, rehabilitation, prosthetics, ergonomic design, and other life sciences.
Interface’s multi-axis load cells are instrumental in biomechanics research because they can measure complex force vectors and torques simultaneously, providing a complete view of mechanical stress on the body. This level of accuracy is essential when studying asymmetrical movements, joint loading patterns, and muscular compensation strategies in both healthy and rehabilitative settings.
Whether integrating Mini Load Cells into robotic exoskeletons and prosthetic testing rigs, or using load cells for gait analysis systems and therapeutic equipment, Interface offers measurement devices that deliver precision data used to drive innovation in human performance, injury prevention, and the development of assistive technologies.
Interface’s force sensors convert mechanical force, such as that experienced during walking, lifting, or jumping, into electrical signals. These signals are then analyzed when connected to DAQ systems and instrumentation to understand how the body responds to various physical demands. In biomechanics, load cells are often integrated into:
By measuring forces in multiple directions, including vertical, horizontal, and shear, load cells allow researchers to calculate overall joint loads and rotational forces acting on specific body segments.
Applications in Biomechanics Using Interface Sensors
Interface is a global leader in force measurement technology used in medical devices, healthcare systems, and general R&D. Our multi-axis sensors and miniature load cells are engineered with the highest test and measurement standards, delivering the accuracy and responsiveness required for complex applications related to advanced biomechanics.
Medical haptics is a specialized field within healthcare technology that focuses on recreating the sense of touch through force-feedback and tactile sensations.
By utilizing high-precision sensors to capture physical interactions, these systems allow medical professionals to “feel” tissue resistance, organ density, and tool engagement during robotic or virtual procedures. This sector in medical and healthcare is critical for bridging the sensory gap in minimally invasive surgery, remote telerobotics, and advanced clinical simulation.
The medical haptics market is experiencing rapid growth, largely driven by the expansion of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) applications. This market is projected to reach over $27 billion by 2032, as medical device OEMs, high-fidelity training simulator manufacturers, and research institutions focused on telesurgery and prosthetics develop surgical robots.
Four Challenges in Medical Haptics Demand High-Accuracy Measurement Sensors
#1 Extreme precision requirements must use sensors to detect micro-forces to prevent damage to delicate vascular or neural tissues.
#2 Complex multi-axis movements by surgical tools shifting across multiple planes require sensors that can distinguish between tension, compression, and torque. This includes simultaneous measurements of 2-, 3-, and 6-axis.
#3 Harsh-environment compatibility demands components be designed to withstand sterilization processes, chemical exposure, and high-temperature autoclaving.
#4 Real-time responsiveness is an absolute requirement, as any latency between the sensor’s measurement and the haptic feedback to the surgeon can lead to “overshooting” and clinical errors.
Interface addresses these challenges by providing high-accuracy, low-capacity sensors that integrate directly into surgical controllers and followers, such as robotic arms. These solutions utilize Interface Miniature Load Cells and Multi-Axis Sensors to measure interaction forces at the tool tip. These measurements are then transmitted via high-speed data acquisition systems to actuate haptic motors, providing the operator with a transparent, real-feel tactile experience that mimics direct hand-on-tissue contact.
Interface Products for Medical Haptics
The shift toward value-based care is driving technologies that improve surgical accuracy and reduce patient recovery times by enhancing tactile awareness.
Medical Haptic Use Cases for Interface Products
The integration of force measurement into medical haptics enhances patient safety by establishing “virtual barriers” that prevent surgeons from applying excessive force. It facilitates shorter learning curves for residents who can train on simulators that accurately replicate the resistance of human anatomy. Ultimately, this technology enables greater surgical precision and improved clinical outcomes, as surgeons can perform complex maneuvers with the same tactile confidence as traditional open surgery.
4D Bioprinting Autoinjector Force Test Ball and Socket Prosthetic Biopsy Needle Robot Arm
Continuum Robot Testing Dental Handpiece Torque Check DNA Replication Emotional Support Robots (ESR's) Heart Valve Testing Hospital Bed Weighing
Interventional Guidewire Quality Inspection
Medical Bag Weighing Patient Hoyer Lift 
Prosthetic Foot Performance Radiosurgery Robot
Robotic Surgery Force Feedback Smart Floors Specimen Research
Stent and Catheter Testing
Surgical Stapler Force Verification Syringe Needle Twist Force Syringe Plunger Force Measurement Tablet Hardness Testing Tablet Machine Hardness Calibration Treadmill Force Measurement Treadmill Rehabilitation
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Year in Review of Top Interface Solutions and Applications
/in Blog /by Jamie GlassInterface is at the forefront of innovative use cases and applications, providing quality devices worldwide to gather precision measurements. Interface unveils the top industry solutions, product use cases and applications that define force measurement in 2023.
Small in Dimension and Precise in Measurement
/in Blog /by Jamie GlassInterface Mini Load Cells are used for small and precise measurements. Interface miniature load cells are ideal for light touch, weight, or limited space test and measurement applications. with capacities available as low as 0.11 lbf / 0.5 N and as high as 100 kN, there are many miniature load cells available in different capacities and models, including our beams, rod-end, load buttons, s-type load cells, and custom miniature OEM solutions.
Interface Load Cells for Press Machines
/in Blog /by Jamie GlassInterface load cells are used in various press machines, from hydraulic presses to stamping machines. Machine builders and engineers use interface load cells to improve product quality, reduce scrap, prevent overloading, and increase safety during operation. Whether selecting a miniature load button load cell for a small press test or our WMC Load Cell to integrate into the machine, Interface has a range of products for press machine applications to ensure quality and accuracy of measurement.
Wireless Telemetry Systems 101
/in 101 Series, Blog /by Jamie GlassInterface offers a wide range of wireless telemetry products including load cells, transmitters, bases, communication modules and data acquisition systems. A wireless telemetry system enables the remote measurement and transmission of data from one location to another without the need for physical wired connections. Components in wireless telemetry systems typically include sensors, transducers, instrumentation, communication modules, transmitters, displays and printers. Learn more about Interface WTS products in our Wireless Telemetry Systems 101 overview.
Interface Solutions Aid Pharmaceutical Industry
/in Blog /by Jamie GlassInterface has a long history of providing precision measurement solutions for pharmaceutical R&D, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, packaging and monitoring use. The science used in the pharmaceutical industry depends on quality measurement of force and weight. Interface load cells are designed for these types of precise requirements. Learn more about our pharma applications and products.
Why Product Design Houses Choose Interface
/in Blog /by Jamie GlassInterface collaborates with product design houses in identifying the right sensors and systems to use during different stages of the product design lifecycle. Whether it is for accurately measuring forces for impact and fatigue testing in prototyping, or identifying precise weights for packaging, Interfaced load cells and instrumentation are valuable tools for product design engineers. Interface products are chosen by design houses based on their range of capabilities, accuracy, versatility and quality.
Center of Gravity Testing in Robotics Demands Precision Load Cells
/in Blog, Industrial Automation /by Jamie GlassInterface specializes in precision force measurement solutions. There are different methods for determining the CoG of a robotic system. One common method is to use strain gage load cells. Not all load cells are designed for precision measurement. Center of gravity testing demands strict measurement. For example, Interface compression load cells are often used in center of gravity testing for robotics because they are very accurate and can measure remarkably small forces.
Are Load Cells Used in Vacuum Environments?
/in Blog /by Jamie GlassInterface provides load cells thare can be used in a vacuum environment. However, not all load cells are created equal or suited for this specialized use case. Vacuum testing labs are used by a variety of industries, including aerospace, medical, and defense. These labs are common for material process testing and used in R&D. Vacuum testing helps to identify potential problems with products and materials before they are used in a vacuum environment. Using quality load cells that are manufactured by force measurement experts in sensor technologies and experienced in working with vacuum testing labs and experts is an important consideration.
Types of Robots Using Interface Sensors
/in Blog, Industrial Automation /by Jamie GlassInterface load cells and torque transducers are commonly used in the design and testing of robots to measure and monitor forces and loads experienced by various robot components. Load cells are used to measure the forces exerted by robotic arms and grippers, while torque transducers are used to measure the torque generated by motors. Multi-axis load cells are growing in use with robotic engineers throughout the R&D phases for more measurement data to make smarter decisions in design and use of the robot.
Miniature Torque Transducers 101
/in 101 Series, Blog /by Jamie GlassThe demands for miniature force and torque measurement solutions are on the rise. Modernization of products along with complex, compact products requires small and robust test and measurement solutions. Miniature torque transducers are small sensors that measure torque, or rotational […]