Maxim Integrated Product Inc. has debuted their DS28E83 DeepCover secure authenticator. The DS28E38 helps medical device designers protect their surgical tool data from the high-energy gamma radiation that is used during the sterilization process. The authenticator also provides tool security with secure tool use management and counterfeit prevention.
The new device is the first secure authentication solution that was specifically designed to withstand gamma sterilization exposure that often disrupts or damages that standard non-volatile memory (NVM) that devices use for calibration, manufacturing data and auto-identification.
Source: Maxim Integrated Product
The DS28E38 includes and elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA) and Secure Hash Algorithm-256 (SHA-256).
The DS28E83 secure authenticator integrates a radiation-tolerant NVM to prevent data loss during sterilization. With this capability, device designers can implement cost-affordable protection from unauthorized re-use and aftermarket device counterfeiting. By allowing electronic surgical instruments to undergo gamma or e-beam sterilization, the DS28E83 greatly enhances patient safety. Authentication is implemented through industry-standard and application-efficient elliptic-curve, public-key cryptography to protect patients against the risks associated with non-qualified counterfeit devices or incidental re-use. The IC, which is easy to integrate into a customer’s design using Maxim’s single-contact one-wire interface, is applicable for medical-surgical tools and sensor applications.
The new device has a robust NVM that can withstand radiation exposure of up to 75 kGy (kiloGray) from gamma ray or x-ray sterilization.
The authenticator has a few features that prevent device counterfeiting, overuse and security breaches. These features include ECDSA P256 asymmetric secure authentication, SHA-256 hash-based message authentication code (HMAC) symmetric key secure authentication, one general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pin with selectable authentication control provides the option for a secure switch. It also has 10 kb secured memory for keys, certificates and user data and unique factory-programmed, read-only serial number for tool identification and cryptographic operations. All these features keep the data held on the devices safe.
To learn more about the DS28E83 DeepCover secure authenticator, visit the Maxim Integrated site here.
