Sensirion has introduced an evaluation kit for its single-use LD20-2600B liquid flow sensors, built around the Swiss company’s CMOSens-branded technology.

Sensirion_Liquid_Flow_SEK_LD20_2600B
“Barbed fittings ensure safe and secure integration into the fluidic line,” according to Sensirion, “The straight and unobstructed flow channel design has no moving parts. Medical-grade wetted materials provide chemical resistance and media compatibility.”
Flow measurement is bi-directional measurement up to 1,000ml/h and the low end of the measurement range is “single-digit ml/h”, it said. Flow error rate is the larger of 5% of measured value or 2.5ml/h.
Communications is via I2C and there is a fair amount of intelligence built-in – see the data sheet.

The sensor has been available for several years, but the eval kit, called SEK-LD20, is new – consisting of three of the sensors (grey in the photo), three base stations (green in the photo) and a quick-start guide.
Sensors snap into the base stations, which are reusable, to both hold then steady and provide electrical interfacing from the contact pads to a 4pin male M8 connector – which is compatible with the company’s SCC1-USB sensor cable. A PCB in the base station adds ESD protection.
Responding to requests from customers to procure the sensor in low volumes, it said, the evaluation kit can be purchased on-line via Sensirion’s distribution network (see below) for initial evaluations and proof-of-concept prototyping.
The company sees the sensor being used “to detect common failure modes such as occlusion, air in line or free flow” in applications such as “monitoring of ambulatory infusion pumps, flow measurements of medications in neonatology and pediatrics, or urine flow measurement”. By tracking and monitoring flow “drug therapies become more effective and medical device manufacturers can enhance the safety, performance and reliability of their products for the benefit of patients and care givers.”
All that said, the date sheet warns: “Do not use this product as safety or emergency stop devices or in any other application where failure of the product could result in personal injury”.