The companies already have an evaluation kit for proximal measurements of inspiratory and expiratory respiratory gas flow rates – Sensirion makes the flow sensors and Nicolay the connector and cable.
“Having received many inquiries from ventilator manufacturers about whether we could include a pressure sensor, Nicolay implemented it and can now offer all versions of our proximal products with an additional pressure sensor,” said Sensirion sales director Andreas Alt. “Nicolay’s cable specialists have integrated the pressure sensor physically into the connector cap and on the software side in the evaluation electronics. Ventilator manufacturers can receive an evaluation kit as a sample. They can use it to test the combined solution or even start developing prototypes with it.”
With the new kit, pressure measurements are taken through a tube only a few centimetres long and converted into an electrical signal directly at the patient’s side – providing faster signal transit time.
“As a result, the solution is easier for care givers to handle because there is a lower risk of getting the wrong tube or getting caught on it when treating the patient,” said Sensiron. “This also leaves space in the ventilator for manufacturers to either add other features or design a more compact device.”
Nicolay is a German company, part of the GPE Group, that develops and manufactures cable systems, connector systems and sensors for non-invasive patient monitoring and diagnostics.
Sensirion is a Swiss company that makes gas and liquid flow sensors, differential pressure sensors and environmental sensors for humidity, temperature, volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde and PM2.5 particulate matter. Its CMOSens technology allows the integration of sensor element, logic, calibration data and digital interface on a single chip.