Breathe easy at Med-Tech Innovation
Festo, exhibiting on stand 45A at Med-Tech Innovation in Coventry, will showcase piezo technology for medical devices.
Example application
Around 600 million people worldwide are afflicted with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mobile oxygen system devices improve the mental and physical ability of patients as well as their quality of life.
Japanese company Musashi Medical Laboratory supplies easy-to-operate regulators in smartphone format for these oxygen system devices, thus significantly improving comfort and handling for patients. Compact piezo valves from Festo provide a quiet oxygen supply for the devices.
Musashi Medical Laboratory took a new approach to designing the oxygen conserver: the group separated the flow regulator from the oxygen bottle so that it can be held conveniently in the hand for operation. Its size and weight are comparable to those of a smartphone, and it can be comfortably carried directly on the patient’s body in a shirt or trouser pocket.
The regulator is compact and light, not least, Festo claims, because of the proportional valve VEMR which regulates the supply of oxygen via the tubing. Another advantage of the piezo valve is that its switching operations are inaudible.
The device is matched to the patient’s respiratory rate. A sensor ensures that the regulator detects inhalation. The right amount of oxygen is then mixed with the respiratory air. During inhalation, the sensor detects a pressure drop and transmits a signal to the regulator which in turn opens the proportional valve VEMR. Oxygen then flows from the oxygen bottle – not uninterruptedly as with other devices, but only for as long as the patient is inhaling. As soon as inhalation has been completed, the valve shuts off the supply of oxygen. Oxygen consumption is thus much more efficient. The oxygen bottle doesn’t have to be refilled as often and the patient’s independence is increased as a result. Festo says that thanks to the energy-efficient piezo valve, the device’s operating time is considerably extended before the battery has to be recharged.
As well as the VEMR piezo valve, Festo is also launching a new light-weight VEMD mass flow controller. With integrated piezo technology the VEMD mass flow device provides proportional control of gas flows. Little energy is required to maintain an active state and no pulse-width-modulated signal is required making the device particularly quiet.