PRESSURE INFLATION CYCLE MACHINE
PRESSURE INFLATION CYCLE MACHINE SUMMARY
Pipeline developed an automated machine to inflate/deflate tourniquets and medical compression sleeves and validate their reliability over a lifetime of cycles.
TEAM:
Mechanical Engineer, Software Engineer
DESIGN TOOLS USED:
Solidworks, 3D Printing, LabVIEW
MARKET:
Medical Devices
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
- Test up to 15 devices at once
- Data acquisition and fault alarms
- Able to run the test from a PC/laptop (no industrial controls required)
- Fully inflate and deflate tourniquets and compression sleeves
- Run autonomously for thousands of cycles
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
Pipeline essentially developed a pressure controller for medical compression sleeves. Each controller (pictured below) controlled the inflation and deflation of a single tourniquet of compression sleeve, and could be ganged together for controlling up to 15 devices simultaneously.
A custom PCB was designed and manufactured as the brains of the controller. Fifteen controller units were made in total and delivered to the customer. Custom LabVIEW software was also created to govern the controller and allowed the customer to set a variety of parameters on their cycle testing (number of cycles, speed of inflation, pressure monitoring, fault detection, etc)
