A recent discovery in Tanzania could provide a sharp boost in production for the medical sector of PCBA manufacturing.
Helium reserve found
A group of researchers from Oxford and Durham Universities found a helium reserve that is effectively one-third the size of the world's current reserve, according to CNN.
"To put this discovery into perspective, global consumption of helium is about 8 billion cubic feet (BCf) per year and the United States Federal Helium Reserve, which is the world's largest supplier, has a current reserve of just 24.2 BCf," University of Oxford's Chris Ballentine, a professor with the Department of Earth Sciences told CNN.
The state of affairs within the industry was so bleak that Tokyo Disneyland had to stop selling helium-filled balloons at one point, the source reported. But how does this all tie back in to PCBA manufacturing? While the two fields may not seem intertwined, they actually are more closely linked than you may think.
While normally used for balloons, helium is also vital for MRI machines.
PCBA and medical sector
The game-changing aspect of this discovery is that it will reinvigorate the MRI PCBA manufacturing industry. CNN reported that this discovery alone has a large enough reserve to facilitate the creation of 1.2 million MRI machines. This is a huge win for the medical sector, as well as for the PCBA companies supporting it.
With this in mind, it's worth it to look at future trends within this field. Healthcare is progressing very quickly due to a number of technological advances. Wearable technology can now monitor health in a way wires couldn't accomplish before, and according to Device Talk, 3D printers are also gaining steam as viable applications.
Sensing devices themselves are becoming incredibly common, as they can pinpoint medical dilemmas in areas that were unexplorable before. The source reported that neurological devices are increasingly gaining ground, as the technology is becoming more advanced and easily deployable.
In this case, much like other sectors, PCBA will become smaller and more complex. PCBA businesses with lean manufacturing methods will undoubtedly stand out of the crowd due to their ability to adapt to the size constraints many of these devices will have moving forward.
One thing is for certain - a large number of MRI machines will be out on the market soon, giving a boost to the contract manufacturing sector as medical companies look for a good fit for their device creation.