Disposable Absorber Cartridges for Low Flow Anaesthesia (Medical)
The Customer Issue
In 2008 an OEM customer reported that a major hospital group in the USA was experiencing short life times with a Molecular Products CO2 absorber. Despite close liaison with the end user to find a solution they were not satisfied with the disposable cartridge performance.
Understanding the Issue
The absorber in the disposable cartridge uses a violet dye as an indicator. As the Sofnolime absorbs CO2 it changes colour from white to violet.
However the absorber capacity reaches the endpoint before the indicator turns completely violet.
The situation is further confused in that the indicator colour fades with time which can cause an expended cartridge to be interpreted as unused.
Understanding the end of life is not simple and requires careful explanation.
The Solution
Molecular Products ran a series of controlled tests to ascertain longevity of disposable canisters under conditions as close to actual use as possible. Breathing and respiration rates were simulated by injecting CO2 into the circuit.
The canisters were run intermittently to replicate actual use.
A formal report was produced including many photographs correlated with carbon dioxide traces that indicated longevities exceeding the 6 hours guaranteed by Molecular products.
The Results
Running a well documented series of trials using actual machines and producing photographs and timed CO2 traces, Molecular Products was able to restore end user and our OEM customer confidence.
Further training was introduced and these types of queries have...faded away!