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Pure H20 Bio-Technologies' disinfection systems
Filtration Industry Analyst
MICROELECTRONICS
MARKET PROSPECTS
ALTIS SELECTS MYKROLIS FILTRATION TECHNOLOGY Altis Semiconductor, a joint venture between Infineon Technologies and IBM Microelectronics, has selected Mykrolis’s Fluorogard RS filtration technology for use at its French facility, one of the largest semiconductor device manufacturing plants in Europe. Altis Semiconductor is a wafer fab company that manufactures devices down to 0.13(mu) m and specialises in manufacturing state-of-the-art electronic components. During a photochemical stripping process evaluation of Mykrolis’s Fluorogard RS product line, the performance of the Fluorogard RS-M, in particular, exceeded expectations, according to a press release from Mykrolis. “The RS-M achieved a filter time of two months, four times longer than that of the previous filter, and significantly reduced tool downtime caused by bath contamination.”
COMMENT Filtration has become a vital tool for the microelectronics industry. The manufacture of semiconductors, for example, is a highly water-intensive business and one highly sensitive to contamination. Furthermore, microelectronics is playing an important part in growth technologies such as the emerging flat screen display market. The newer semiconductor chips can include components that are measured at the atomic level, making the prevention of contamination a serious issue. (Indeed, scientists
6
July 2004
at GE have just unveiled one of the smallest functioning devices ever made, see Perspective on page 4.) The smaller the chips get, the more need there will be for specialist purification and filtration technology – to prevent contamination within the manufacturing process. A further incentive for filtration companies active in this sector comes with the fact that the microelectronics industry is becoming highly prevalent in Asia, a marketplace many in the filtration industry are aiming to open up. ■
MEDICAL PALL WATER FILTER HEADS FOR EUROPEAN MARKET Pall Corp recently introduced its newest Aquasafe Water Filter (AQL3) for the European market. The AQL3 is a disposable point-of-use, clip-on showerhead, validated to remove Legionella bacteria for up to one month. In a statement, Pall explained that the “recognition that Legionella bacteria are transmitted to humans through contaminated water systems is increasing worldwide as the number of outbreaks of Legionnaires disease, a potentially fatal pneumonia, continues to rise.” The problem is at its most critical in hospitals because of the higher than normal concentration of people with “compromised” immune systems. The Pall AquaSafe Water Filter is a medical device incorporating a 0.2 micron membrane validated to remove Legionella. “Its effectiveness has been demonstrated in the clinical setting
in French, Italian, German and British hospitals. “The disposable showerhead is easy to clip on for protection. It withstands even high water temperatures and requires only a simple change every thirty days,” the Pall statement said.
ENERGY TECHNIQUE’S ‘NIGHTINGALE’ IN US HOSPITAL Energy Technique Plc, designer and manufacturer of heating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, has sold its first Nightingale air filtration system – developed to kill the MRSA hospital superbug, TB, and other dangerous germs – into the US healthcare system. The first unit was sold to the Northwest Hospital Centre in Randallstown, Maryland, after the hospital saw the unit at a Maryland exhibition. Speaking to Filtration Industry Analyst, Energy Technique’s managing director Leigh Stimpson explained that the equipment has been under development for the past four years. “The system has been monitored by the UK Health Protection Agency, and performed well, and we are also trialling it at an Oncology department for cancer patients at a UK hospital. It’s a slow process, but it’s a start.”
PURE H20 BIOTECHNOLOGIES’ DISINFECTION SYSTEMS Pure H20 Bio-Technologies Inc has introduced its allstainless steel medical and residential system. Model 7000 is the company’s premier model – a medical system designed to assist hospitals worldwide in the treatment of patients with
weakened immunity, patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, HIV patients, and others with compromised immune systems.
COMMENT The problem of infections picked up in hospitals by patients is currently very topical. At a Phoenix, Arizona conference for professionals of Infection Control & Epidemiology (APIC) taking place this month, two of the world’s leading experts on hospital waterborne infection, Janet Stout, PhD, and Elias Anaissie, MD, called for increased infection control initiatives. The conference will discuss the extent of the problem, as well as the the potential risk to patients from contaminated waters systems in hospitals and nursing homes. And health organisations worldwide are increasingly waking up to the dangers faced by patients who are exposed to dangerous airborne pathogens, which can be carried around hospitals and other buildings through air conditioning equipment. This kind of selfgenerating PR is good news for the filtration industry, and could eventually lead to more stringent regulation. Ultimately this could provide more business for filtration companies, and those already in the market such as Pall, Energy Technique and H2O BioTechnologies are sure to benefit. ■
EMERGENCY EMERGENCY FILTRATION PRODUCTS SET FOR JAPAN? Emergency Filtration Product’s plan to export its RespAide, Vapor Isolation
MICROELECTRONICS
MARKET PROSPECTS
ALTIS SELECTS MYKROLIS FILTRATION TECHNOLOGY Altis Semiconductor, a joint venture between Infineon Technologies and IBM Microelectronics, has selected Mykrolis’s Fluorogard RS filtration technology for use at its French facility, one of the largest semiconductor device manufacturing plants in Europe. Altis Semiconductor is a wafer fab company that manufactures devices down to 0.13(mu) m and specialises in manufacturing state-of-the-art electronic components. During a photochemical stripping process evaluation of Mykrolis’s Fluorogard RS product line, the performance of the Fluorogard RS-M, in particular, exceeded expectations, according to a press release from Mykrolis. “The RS-M achieved a filter time of two months, four times longer than that of the previous filter, and significantly reduced tool downtime caused by bath contamination.”
COMMENT Filtration has become a vital tool for the microelectronics industry. The manufacture of semiconductors, for example, is a highly water-intensive business and one highly sensitive to contamination. Furthermore, microelectronics is playing an important part in growth technologies such as the emerging flat screen display market. The newer semiconductor chips can include components that are measured at the atomic level, making the prevention of contamination a serious issue. (Indeed, scientists
6
July 2004
at GE have just unveiled one of the smallest functioning devices ever made, see Perspective on page 4.) The smaller the chips get, the more need there will be for specialist purification and filtration technology – to prevent contamination within the manufacturing process. A further incentive for filtration companies active in this sector comes with the fact that the microelectronics industry is becoming highly prevalent in Asia, a marketplace many in the filtration industry are aiming to open up. ■
MEDICAL PALL WATER FILTER HEADS FOR EUROPEAN MARKET Pall Corp recently introduced its newest Aquasafe Water Filter (AQL3) for the European market. The AQL3 is a disposable point-of-use, clip-on showerhead, validated to remove Legionella bacteria for up to one month. In a statement, Pall explained that the “recognition that Legionella bacteria are transmitted to humans through contaminated water systems is increasing worldwide as the number of outbreaks of Legionnaires disease, a potentially fatal pneumonia, continues to rise.” The problem is at its most critical in hospitals because of the higher than normal concentration of people with “compromised” immune systems. The Pall AquaSafe Water Filter is a medical device incorporating a 0.2 micron membrane validated to remove Legionella. “Its effectiveness has been demonstrated in the clinical setting
in French, Italian, German and British hospitals. “The disposable showerhead is easy to clip on for protection. It withstands even high water temperatures and requires only a simple change every thirty days,” the Pall statement said.
ENERGY TECHNIQUE’S ‘NIGHTINGALE’ IN US HOSPITAL Energy Technique Plc, designer and manufacturer of heating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, has sold its first Nightingale air filtration system – developed to kill the MRSA hospital superbug, TB, and other dangerous germs – into the US healthcare system. The first unit was sold to the Northwest Hospital Centre in Randallstown, Maryland, after the hospital saw the unit at a Maryland exhibition. Speaking to Filtration Industry Analyst, Energy Technique’s managing director Leigh Stimpson explained that the equipment has been under development for the past four years. “The system has been monitored by the UK Health Protection Agency, and performed well, and we are also trialling it at an Oncology department for cancer patients at a UK hospital. It’s a slow process, but it’s a start.”
PURE H20 BIOTECHNOLOGIES’ DISINFECTION SYSTEMS Pure H20 Bio-Technologies Inc has introduced its allstainless steel medical and residential system. Model 7000 is the company’s premier model – a medical system designed to assist hospitals worldwide in the treatment of patients with
weakened immunity, patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, HIV patients, and others with compromised immune systems.
COMMENT The problem of infections picked up in hospitals by patients is currently very topical. At a Phoenix, Arizona conference for professionals of Infection Control & Epidemiology (APIC) taking place this month, two of the world’s leading experts on hospital waterborne infection, Janet Stout, PhD, and Elias Anaissie, MD, called for increased infection control initiatives. The conference will discuss the extent of the problem, as well as the the potential risk to patients from contaminated waters systems in hospitals and nursing homes. And health organisations worldwide are increasingly waking up to the dangers faced by patients who are exposed to dangerous airborne pathogens, which can be carried around hospitals and other buildings through air conditioning equipment. This kind of selfgenerating PR is good news for the filtration industry, and could eventually lead to more stringent regulation. Ultimately this could provide more business for filtration companies, and those already in the market such as Pall, Energy Technique and H2O BioTechnologies are sure to benefit. ■
EMERGENCY EMERGENCY FILTRATION PRODUCTS SET FOR JAPAN? Emergency Filtration Product’s plan to export its RespAide, Vapor Isolation