Since the breakdown of the COVID-19, the healthcare industry has been greatly changed by the pandemic. One of the future trends in the industry is automation. According to KFF, as of the week ending March 20, 2022, the most recent data available, 28% of nursing facilities reported at least one staffing shortage (approximately 3,900 out of 14,000 facilities). These staffing shortages have made the use of automation more necessary than ever to ensure patients can continue to receive the care they need.

Gear motor drive systems are one of the key components of the automation. Gear motors are often applied to medical advancements, giving medical applications greater accuracy and professional control. ZHAOWEI develops a wide variety of medical gearboxes for demanding medical applications, no matter for surgical, clinical, or laboratory settings.

ZHAOWEI Drive System Empower the Medical Applications

Ventilator Intelligent Adjustment

A ventilator, breathing machine, or respirator is a machine that assists with breathing. It is mainly used in hospitals to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sleep apnea, acute lung injury, and hypoxemia. As the impact of COVID-19, The demand for medical ventilators has risen dramatically, pushing manufacturers to increase output by 30–50%. According to statistics, the ventilators market is projected to reach USD 1.9 billion in 2026 from USD 1.4 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 7.6% during the forecast period.

ZHAOWEI intake valve motors can help the ventilator intelligently adjust the intake volume. The design principle is that the regulating valve of medical ventilators can achieve the intelligent adjustment of the size of the oxygen jet hole under the combination of helical worm and pressure of the intake valve. Choose the corresponding orifice-plate diameter under different output flow, achieving great absorbing and back-pressure ability. Compared with the existing technology, ventilators with intelligent adjustment make a lower oxygen concentration and higher stability possible under the same backpressure and different flow. 

Insulin Pump- Reliable Insulin Delivery

Diabetes, a widespread disease, is getting more and more attention in our daily life. More and more patients are switching to an insulin pump delivery system to provide customized, fast, reliable, and precise insulin delivery in a compact size. The insulin pump gearbox provided by ZHAOWEI is conducive to smart control of the insulin injection volume, keeping the blood sugar balanced. It controls the screw ejection by the transmission of the stepper motor (or customized type of motor) so that the designed gearbox can reach the expected size of the matchbox. ZHAOWEI firmly runs after the extremely high demands of each DC motor: In order to keep down the weight of the wearable device, the DC motor must be compact, and as a rule, the diameter must be suitable. Then, the DC motor must be reliable and precise, since too little or too much insulin is harmful to the patient. The insulin pump is primarily used by diabetes patients as a wearable medical pump, but other application areas are also emerging. ZHAOWEI medical motor service with gears is already in use.

Surgical Stapling Device Drive System

Surgical stapling devices also referred to as surgical staplers, are medical devices that are used for wound closure or closure of incision after a surgery is performed. The adoption of surgical stapler has witnessed a surge owing to the advantages the surgical stapler offers compared to the traditional suturing and stitching methods. The devices may be used internally to seal tissue during surgery. They are useful in minimally invasive surgery because they require only a narrow opening and can quickly cut and seal tissue and blood vessels.

Through the analysis of the structure of surgical stapling devices, ZHAOWEI achieves a high torque with low noise by optimizing the gear tooth profile and gear material. The ZHAOWEI micro drive system is used in the transmission module of linear cutter staplers, which can output the high torque required for surgical instruments in a limited space and cut down on noise during use.

IV pump flow control

With the development of wireless data transmission technology, automatic IV systems can monitor the flow speed, display the volume of injection, quickly prompt warnings when the liquid is finished, and monitor patients. The system uses infrared transmission signals to control the gearbox, which can adjust the flow rate of the solution and monitor the injection process. This method can significantly improve the work efficiency of nurses. To realize automation and reduce hidden dangers in the infusion process, ZHAOWEI uses a helical worm structure and infusion pump. pressure effect to prompt the telescopic head of the infusion pump to open and close intelligently, and achieves controllable position, low noise, and stable efficiency.

Medical Massage Optimized Control

A soothing massage after a tiring day at work is the most convenient way to wind down. Massage therapy helps relax knotted muscles, eliminate chronic aches and pains, and improve circulation. It could also help release muscle tension and improve the mobility of the joints. Medical massage occupies a large part in medical applications, especially eye, scalp, and visage massage. Massaging the eye area can increase oxygen to the eyes and brain. Using kneading or rolling compression, sometimes along with heat, the devices can stimulate blood flow and reduce eye fatigue. The multi-stage gear transmission mechanism for the eye massager launched by ZHAOWEI enables such functions. The dedicated planetary gear design greatly helps to reduce the noise when the eye massager is operating while different stages (2-stage, 3-stage, and 4-stage) of gear transmission help to easily control the frequency and intensity of the eye massager according to the design requirements. Scalp and visage massager is no exception. ZHAOWEI optimizes the design of the gearbox structure to achieve high torque, low noise, and long service life.

Healthcare in the future

Health is an eternal topic, which makes an important contribution to social progress. Complete customizable and precise drive solutions for various medical applications are available by ZHAOWEI to reduce assembly costs while providing outstanding performance. No matter what next challenge the medical industry will be confronted with, ZHAOWEI will strive to meet and even exceed customers’ needs in miniature medical motors with gearboxes.