In the Spotlight July 2008

Environmental-monitoring system offers flexibility

The "Kaye Labwatch" environmental-monitoring system from GE Sensing and Inspection Technologies (Billerica, MA) is now available with the "RF ValProbe" data-collection system for real-time wireless validation. The RF ValProbe units collect temperature and humidity information and transmit it to the Labwatch system.

Kaye Labwatch system (GE Sensing and Inspection Technologies)

Bob Urbanowski, GE's product manager for Labwatch, says the wireless system improves flexibility and simplifies regulatory compliance for operators. "Users can reconfigure their facilities and still capture all the data they need without always going through full revalidation," he says. The wireless solution enables users to move equipment without necessarily changing the underlying data-collection protocols.

The Labwatch system maintains a secure archive of monitored values from all sensors and creates an audit trail of alarms and actions taken by the system and operators. The software is appropriate for monitoring areas such as stability chambers, freezers, and cleanrooms.

System converts tap water to ultrapure water

Millipore (Billerica, MA) introduced its "Milli-Q Integral" water-purification system, which converts tap water to pure and ultrapure water. Separate points-of-delivery (POD) dispensers deliver ultrapure water, pure water, or both at once. Operators can adjust the PODs' flow rates to release as much as 2 L/min. The PODs can transport different types of water to various parts of a facility.

Milli-Q Integral system (Millipore)

Users can change the filter at the ends of the ultrapure PODs to eliminate particular contaminants. POD dispensers also can be adapted with contaminant-specific final polishers.

Versatile spray chamber reduces solvent load

The "IsoMist" programmable-temperature spray chamber from Glass Expansion (Pocasset, MA) provides efficient sample transport. Users can select temperatures between -10 and 60 °C (in increments of 1 °C) to suit various applications. Jerry Dulude, president of Glass Expansion, says these characteristics make the spay chamber versatile and easy to use.

IsoMist spray chamber (Glass Expansion)

Because the device can introduce a sample at –10 °C, it reduces the load of volatile organic solvents on the plasma, Dulude says. A thermocouple feedback loop linked to a Peltier-effect heat-transfer device ensures constant sample temperature.

Operators can control and monitor the IsoMist unit from a computer using a wireless interface or a standard network connection. The chamber creates temperature versus time plots and saves data and results for regulatory compliance.