Environmental Control Unit for Medical Device OEM

An original equipment manufacturer's concept for an environmental control unit (ECU) that protected the process chemicals in its medical device was made into reality by Air Innovations. According to Air Innovations President and CEO Michael Wetzel, P.E., AI's task was to refine the concept to meet the customer's performance and integration specifications, and then to manufacture it. "Because the customer sells these units to a worldwide customer base, part of the challenge was designing an ECU that could hold precise temperature and humidity levels across a broad range of differing environmental conditions while operating 24/7 year-round.

"To maintain the OEM's environmental needs the cooling coil had to operate well below the point of freezing, without defrost interruptions," Wetzel explains. "The solution that was developed relies upon two independent cooling coils and process fans operating on an alternating basis managed by software and various sensor inputs to determine switch-over intervals." Air Innovations' challenge was even more considerable because the components had to fit into a space equivalent to the size of a small microwave oven. The OEM's product was recently approved by the FDA and is now in full production.

Air Innovations creates specialty HVAC and environmental control solutions for original equipment manufacturers around the world as well as its own branded products, including the patented IsolationAir, a portable contamination control unit for hospitals, nursing homes and emergency preparedness. The company's focus is on the design, test and manufacture of products that require precise control of temperature, humidity, pressure, and air filtration. These are used in military, homeland security, R&D, pharmaceutical, electronics, industrial, retail and consumer applications. Air Innovations' technical expertise includes:

• Temperature control tolerances on its most sophisticated products as precise as +/- 0.008°F
• Humidity control tolerances to +/- 0.5%
• Direct expansion, chilled water or thermoelectric capabilities
• Broad filtration capabilities (high efficiency particulate air (HEPA), ultra-low particulate air (ULPA), molecular)
• Pressure control
• Enclosure designs from bench top- to room-sized

www.airinnovations.com