Corporate News
Munich, 1 September 2010: Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group, today announced it has developed an innovative calibration gas mixture, combining precise levels of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in a single cylinder, to be used in connection with the treatment of sick newborns. The two gases are required to calibrate equipment used in administration of INOmax ® - nitric oxide in nitrogen for inhalation. INOmax ® is indicated for treatment of hypoxic respiratory failure in certain newborns.
Until now the NO and NO2 gases have been supplied in two separate cylinders as combining the two gases together would normally make them reactive with the internal cylinder wall, thereby changing the gas mixture concentration and rendering it unusable for the vital calibration process. Supplying the gases in two separate cylinders, however, necessitated calibration with two separate connections, adding time and complexity into the calibration process. Linde’s SPECTRA-SEAL ® proprietary technology, part of Linde’s HiQ ® product range, was used to treat the internal cylinder surface, making it as passivised and unreactive as possible, allowing the NO and NO2 gases to be combined in a single cylinder without change of concentration.
The supply of the two gases in a single unit has benefits for neonatal healthcare professionals. Hospital staff can now calibrate inhaled NO administration equipment using only one connection, saving valuable seconds. The new cylinder package is also refillable and therefore more environmentally friendly than alternative “disposable” packages and also means hospital customers are relieved of the burden of cylinder disposal and its associated costs.
“Previously hospital staff engaged in inhaled NO therapy had to use two connections to undertake the necessary calibration of their equipment,” said Stephen Harrison, Head of Specialty Gases and Specialty Equipment, Linde Gases. “Linde is constantly innovating in order to provide customers with products that deliver greater levels of efficiency and safety. That hospital staff can now reliably calibrate inhaled NO equipment using a single connection is testament to our strengths as a world-leading gas technology supplier.”
“The new calibration gas cylinder from Linde is definitely easier to use than the two separate cylinders which we had to use previously,” says Richie Montoya, Biomedical Engineer, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London. “We are very happy with the cylinder performance.”