Problem Solver

Malcolm Humphrey

I'm an Electronics Engineer by trade, however I tend to be systems engineer in practise. My major talent is seeing problems from a broad perspective. My solutions are not necessarily the best technical solutions, however they tend to satisfy the most requirements from a commercial, manufacturability, regulatory and perfomance point of view.

I have many years experience of bringing products to market, seeing it through from initial concept to volume production. I have a very good feel for solutions which are viable and which solutions are impractical.

Every company or client I have worked for to date has been very satisfied with my performance, and I intend to make sure that this continues.

Areas Malcolm Humphrey is Knowledgeable in:

my interestests are principally in technology in general. Most of my problem solving abilities come from keeping up with the latest developements in semiconductors, electronics, physics, hardware and software.

In terms of skillsets, I tend to be a jack of trades. I'm best at looking at things from a top level systems point of view and identifying the best way to tackle a problem. I have always found that I can apply myself to any challenge and quickly learn what is needed to solve the problem. If I don't know how to solve the problem personally, the chances are that I will know of a company or person I can consult who can help.

Generally, my area of greatest expertise is half way between the hardware and software domains. My idea of a perfect project is something that involves both as well as something innovative.

Techniques Malcolm Humphrey Uses:

I always start with research, finding out what technologies there are available which might resolve the problem. This is normally extensive web searching, textbooks etc. I might already be aware of a technology which could be applied (I always make a big effort to keep up to date with technology news), or I will research into the area and find out as much as I can.

once I have identified one or more candidate technologies, I research into them to make sure that they can be used (not patent protected by a competing company for example), they are feasible (Cost, development time, complexity, risk etc), and that I have sufficient understanding/knowledge to take it further.

If the techology(ies) prove to be viable, I will then go to the prototype stage to prove the concept. I will identify the risk areas where I think there will be the most problems and attempt to prove that the problems can be overcome. I will create a working prototype and characterise its performace. At this stage I will identify problems that I may not have thought of before and attempt to solve them.

Once this stage is complete to my satisfaction, and I have proven that the solution will satisfy the requirements in terms of performance, cost, development time etc, I will then provide necessary documentation to allow myself or others to develop the concept into a full product

Malcolm Humphrey's Problem Solving Skills:

limited physics and optics knowledge
limited RF design experience (up to 2GHz, including Inmarsat, zigbee, bluetooth and unlicensed 433 MHz bands)
limited FPGA/CPLD design experience
Electronics hardware design from concept, safety, prototyping to volume production and design for manufacture
Mixed signal design, interfacing analogue to digital
Embedded C programming, mostly in microcontrollers (PICs, 8051s etc up to ARM7/9)
Digital electronics design (not high speed)
Analogue electronics design
PCB layout for digital, analogue, RF etc. Also design for manufacture.
regulatory experience of EMC compliance/testing compliance for medical devices, radio transcievers.

Malcolm Humphrey's Problem Solving Experience:

My previous company use fuel cells to measure the amount of ethanol on a persons breath. This has problems due to the fuel cells drying out, temperature etc.

I found another way of measuring alcohol on the breath using photo-acoustics. This is where you inject a breath sample into a resonant cavity. You subject it to a specific wavelengths of IR radiation modulated at the resonant frequency of the cavity.

If there ethanol in the sample, the molecules heat up and vibrate. Because the modulation is at the resonant frequency of the cavity this is amplified and can be measured with a microphone. The larger the concentration of ethanol, the larger the response.

This also has the ability to detect alcohol in smaller quantities and discrimate between the different types of alcohol (something fuel cells can't do). It also has the possiblity to detect non human samples, useful in vehicle ignition interlock systems such as those being implemented in school buses in sweden.
final idea for my previous company, they were using soleniods with a bellow system to draw a breath sample from the sample tube into the fuel cell and then expel it again. because its a solenoid it uses a subtantial amount of power and needs bulky components to utilise it (bit a problem for a hand held instrument)

I found a different method using a MEMS piezoelectric diaphragm air pump to perform the same function. This has the benefit of being smaller, using less power and giving you the option of varying the size of the breath sample.
My current company is a medical company producing linear accelerators for treating cancer. The machine consists of a large radiation head which rotates around a patient as they lie on a treatment table. The machine has a mechanical touchguard which prevents collisions with the patient, bed, trolleys etc. This has many limitations as it is expensive, and is often removed for certain treatments as it gets in the way.

I have identified a solution using arrays of ultrasound transducers fabricated on a flexible PCB using PVDF. These transducers are able to produce ultrasound at high frequencies (greater than 500kHz) which allows the devices to act a proximity sensors at close range (5mm-50mm). This will allow the machine finer control when the head is close to the patient, without restricting the usability of overall system.

This is currently in the concept stage, I am in discussions with a company whom my company is likely to outsource the development of this concept to.
Also for my current company, they have a problem with a 3rd party product. A monitor needs attachment to the patient table that is quick, secure and simple. This mechanical attachment should not change the current design of the table, nor should it damage the patient table which is made of carbon fibre to minimise the attenuation of radiation.

Many solutions were suggested, none of which met the requirements. I suggested they used an industrial vacuum cup to fix the monitor to the table (similar to the type they use for moving glass). this would allow fast, secure fixing to the table without damaging it in any way. This has now been adopted.
My previous company makes breath alcohol testers. They were using a quad op-amp to amplify the signal from a fuel cell to feed into the ADC of a microcontroller. I changed the design to use a microcontroller with an integrated delta-sigma ADC. This eliminated the need for any front end circuitry as the ADC provided the necessary sensitivity and resolution. This was a substantial cost saving in both material costs and in setup/calibration costs (no need to set gains/offsets etc). I was responsible for the improving the design, making sure it was suitable for manufacture, liasing with customers, resolving problems once it was in the field etc.

Contact Me Update My Profile