“We have been in daily contact with our customer HAGE Sondermaschinenbau in Obdach (Styria) for some time. We were very impressed that the company, at the request of the Austrian government, rapidly developed a ventilator. We are especially proud that with the required control technology and applications know-how, SIGMATEK could make a contribution”, explained Bernd Hildebrandt, Sales Manager Austria at SIGMATEK Automation.
The first variants based on a bag valve mask and a pneumatic cylinder were developed, printed and tested by HAGE managing director Peter Freigassner. Together with the HAGE3D team, a functional, supervised machine was created over a short time span. In close cooperation with experts from the Medical University of Graz, the requirements and construction were refined in multiple iterations. With the “Respirator”, the oxygen supply pressure is regulated by a valve system close to the patient in the ventilation tube and controlled by sensors. The transmitted values are graphically displayed on the touch display. A visual and acoustic warning system reports the deviation from defined set values. To ensure that hygienic requirements are met, numerous components are produced from single-use materials that are replaced or cleaned before use on the next patient. For components that do not come into contact with the patient, hygienic surface disinfection is provided. Function tests and all further test phases have been successfully completed.
In the “Respirator”, only easily available industrial components are installed, which are not in short supply due to their use in medical value chains. For the control system, the thin S-DIAS system from SIGMATEK is used. The high-performance solution requires only 10 cm of space. Operation and visualization are performed using a 7-inch color touch display. When creating the pressure control software, the HAGE team was supported by SIGMATEK.