Originally Published MPMN January/February 2002

INDUSTRY NEWS

World's Smallest Vane Pump Introduced at Medica

The giant trade show Medica returned to Düsseldorf, Germany, on November 21–24, offering a bounty of new products and services for the medical sector. Say what you will about the current state of the global economy, if turnout at this show is any indication, the medical industry seems to be alive and well.

Medica is an event that can impress with its size alone. This year's show featured no fewer than 3600 exhibitors from 58 countries. More than 127,000 visitors flocked to the city on the Rhine to view the latest in medical device technology. Twelve halls were dedicated to such product categories as electromedicine, laboratory and diagnostic technology, and consumer goods. There were also some suppliers present, who took advantage of the event to launch products of interest to device OEMs.

The German firm Schwarzer Precision Pumps (Essen, Germany; www.schwarzer-pumps.de) displayed what is reportedly the world's smallest vane pump. Measuring just 15 x 38 mm and weighing in at 12 g, the Lilliputian is designed for applications in anesthesia equipment and other medical appliances that require pulsation-free pumping of small volumes.

Yards away, Furukawa Electric Europe Ltd. (London; www.fitec.co.jp/ftm/nt-e) introduced European visitors to a high-stiffness guidewire with no yield point and no super-elastic plateau. The material, which offers high straightness and torque transmission, is designed to allow medical manufacturers to produce guidewires without infringing on a well-known international patent.

G.E. Medical Systems (Buc, France; www.gemedical systemseurope.com) displayed a system called Intellimotion that is designed to simplify inventory and equipment management by tracking the location of medical devices in hospitals and other clinical environments. The system is composed of small tags that attach to medical equipment and send out GPS-like signals. Representatives were also on hand from the company WhereNet (Santa Clara, CA; www.where net.com), which supplies the tracking technology for IntelliMotion. WhereNet is investigating the possibility of integrating the tags into devices as board-level components.

Low-cost pressure measurement sensors were displayed by Sensortechnics (Puchheim, Germany; www. sensortechnics.com). The company's CTE8000 CompactLine series operates at ranges of 0.5 to 100 bar gauge and features fully media-isolated pressure sensors. The sensors withstand aggressive environments and are easy to attach to tubing.

Benjamin Lichtman

Copyright ©2002 Medical Product Manufacturing News