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. Some
industry experts predict that CD-R media shipments will exceed 1.5 billion
pieces per year by the year 2000.
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 15 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.
Dye
stability is a significant concern also. TDK uses a metal stabilized cyanine
dye to insure a minimum 100-year life span. TDK performs accelerated aging
tests and prints precautionary labeling to insure this life span. Will other
manufacturers do the same?
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.
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