Medical valves covered in catalogue

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Apr 26, 2006

80-page catalogue covers range of specialist miniature solenoid and pneumatic valve products for use in medical, biomedical and analytical applications.

Asco Scientific has produced a catalogue covering its range of specialist miniature solenoid and pneumatic valve products for use in medical, biomedical and analytical applications.

Running to over 80 pages, and including 11 sections, the catalogue describes a range of products for where standard products are unsuitable.

It includes miniature products such as pinch valves for contamination free operation, fluid isolation valves for controlling aggressive fluids, miniature directional control valves, and a series of proportional valves that includes piezo types, with non heating characteristics, to full closed loop versions in port sizes up to G1.

The catalogue also highlights how these products can be integrated to provide bespoke multi-function modules for applications such as dentistry, microbiology, analysis and respiratory control.

This approach, with assemblies designed and delivered as fully functional units, reduces costs and speeds-up the overall construction time of the equipment to which the pre-engineered systems are applied.

The Medical and Analytical catalogue details four types of pinch valves, all of which are for applications where fluids, including corrosives, need to be isolated from the valves' moving parts.

Low power, direct acting, two and three way NO or NC types, the pinch valves can provide sterile conditions in medical analyser, biotechnology and chromatography applications.

Complementing the pinch valve information are data on fluid isolation valves.

These are for use in medical analysers, biotechnology and gas analysers, and with corrosive fluids such as acids, bases and analytical reagents.

In view of their stringent operating conditions, the valves are direct acting types, with hermetic separation between the fluid and valve parts to prevent contamination.

Also included are miniature direct acting solenoid valves - the building blocks for use in bespoke control manifolds of the type used in dentistry, microbiology and chemical analytical systems.

The valves consume 1W minimum.

Both two and three way versions are provided, all with plastic bodies and internal parts of brass and stainless steel.

The modular construction of the valves provides flexibility with M3 threaded bodies and M3 and M5 sub-bases all being available.

Proportional valves provide variable flow, which is proportional to a control signal.

These valves are employed in medical applications such as endoscopy, where a proportional valve block controls the flow of CO2 used to enlarge the operating area for endoscopic surgery.

Asco's Sentronic proportional valves are also used in tandem to control the flow of blood through artificial hearts, by alternatively applying pressure or vacuum.

In another application, micro injection of aqueous solutions into living cells, the firm's piezotronic valve provides precise control with low power consumption (0.007W) and practically unlimited service life (greater than one billion cycles).

Its low power consumption means there is no heat transfer from the valve into the fluid, a condition that could otherwise spoil the process.