Rising to the challenge
The coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, have the world on edge. The number of people who have fallen ill and who have tested positive for the virus continues to rise. To slow the spread of the pandemic, measures – some of which are very drastic – are being taken around the world. At the same time, laboratory and diagnostic capacities are being created and expanded to allow tests to be analyzed faster and to perform research using antibodies and immunity data to help develop vaccines. But the protection of the people who are fighting for the lives of hospitalized patients must also be seamless and function as reliably as the ventilators for ill patients. For these important and in some cases life-sustaining systems, FAULHABER develops and delivers key components with its drive systems. In addition to the high standards of EN ISO 9001 and 14001, FAULHABER is also specially certified for medical products acc. to EN ISO 13485.
Active against corona
The health of employees has top priority! The FAULHABER GROUP has preemptively implemented the maximum possible health protection measures at all locations so the company can continue to supply all customers with drive systems for the currently so urgently needed devices and is thereby doing its part for the healthcare of the population and containment of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Applications
Ventilation systems
The need for ventilation systems around the world has increased rapidly in a just a very short time, with many countries currently stocking up and expanding their capacities. To ensure the supply with oxygen, so-called CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machines are being used in non-invasive cases to support breathing. In intensive care, where the critically ill are generally sedated, ventilation is performed invasively by means of intubation.
Personal protective equipment (PAPR)
Respiratory protection is an especially important part of personal protective equipment. After all, the virus spreads through respiratory droplet transmission. Closed PAPR systems (powered air-purifying respirators) provide ideal protection for medical personnel. Wearable ventilation systems provide filtered, contaminate-free air via a fan. This allows medical professionals and clinical personnel to be personally protected from exposure to the virus, while still being able to care for COVID-19-infected patients.
Laboratory automation
An expansion of testing capacities is considered an important part in the fight against COVID-19. The more tests that are performed, the more that is learned about the virus. For people experiencing potential symptoms of COVID-19, it‘s critical that these individuals have access to quick, accurate testing resources to confirm the suspected diagnosis, and also to identify an effective prognosis. Currently, the preferred test for detecting a corona infection is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
Point-of-care (PoC) analysis
If results need to be available promptly so that decisions can be quickly made in, e.g., intensive care units, outpatient departments or doctors’ practices on the basis of laboratory values, so-called point-of-care test are called for. These are used to detect parameters such as heart enzymes and blood values on-site or can be used with PCR tests to quickly verify the presence of pathogens like SARS-CoV-2 on swabs. Analysis devices for use in PoC tests are nearly fully automated and, through the use of test strips, require only very few actions by the user.
Infrared thermometry
Shown in simplified form, a lens in an infrared thermometer focuses the thermal energy of an object, e.g., a building, a person or an animal, onto a detector. The associated thermal radiation is converted into electrical signals and ultimately into an image or a numerical value. Thus the operator of the device can quickly identify the temperature in a room, or in the case of COVID-19, the detector can indicate an elevated temperature or fever of an infected individual. This technology is therefore used worldwide at control points, such as border crossings.
