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Heat conductors of ISOTAN® for ventilators

Isabellenhütte meets high covid-19-related demand in record time

Isabellenhütte meets high covid-19-related demand in record time

The alloy ISOTAN® produced by Isabellenhütte is used as a heat conductor in ventilators

Isabellenhütte, a specialist for precision alloys, supplies the alloy ISOTAN® as a heat conductor for ventilators. When demand for ventilators shot up as a result of the recent developments related to the coronavirus, Isabellenhütte put their rapid and reliable supply performance to the test.

This is project organized by the federal government in which Isabellenhütte acts as a supplier to a reputable cable manufacturer. This cooperation had already been established for several years, but the project gained new significance in the context of coronavirus developments.

Increased demand of 1,000 percent

While 40 kilograms of ISOTAN® were still ordered from Isabellenhütte as the usual annual quantities in February 2020, the cable manufacturer had to put in a subsequent order for a further 400 kilograms in late March. A special challenge, which Isabellenhütte tackled head-on, as Dora Kosiarska, Area Sales Manager for Alloys at Isabellenhütte, explains: “We knew right away how important and urgent this issue was, and wanted to make our contribution. Because we produce our alloys at the primary site in Dillenburg and had enough raw materials, we could move straight to implementation. We created extra capacity so that we could meet the increased demand within only two days. It was, therefore, possible for the customer to start with their own cable production immediately.” The normal delivery times for wires such as ISOTAN® are typically several weeks at Isabellenhütte.

Heat conductors warm the breathing gas

ISOTAN® serves to condition the breathing gas in the ventilator cable. The heat conductor ensures that the supplied breathing gas is warmed to body temperature before it reaches the patient. If the temperature is too low, there is a risk of hypothermia and lung damage.

Long lifecycle and dependable

ISOTAN® is a typical heat conductor used in potentiometers or heating pads, for example, those used in-floor heating systems. It features low-temperature coefficients of electrical resistance for a very large range of temperatures, i.e. it reacts to changes in resistance with only very low changes in temperatures (in special quality +/- 10 ppm per Kelvin). In addition, ISOTAN® is oxidation and corrosion-resistant and thus has a very long lifecycle and is robust to outside effects. In medical technology, reliability and a long lifecycle are central material requirements in view of the demands placed on the cables.

ISOTAN® is supplied as a round wire which is then further processed and sheathed by the cable manufacturer.