Portable, Integrated Life Support System

Market: Medical
Customer: Thornhill Medical

The Thornhill Medical and TorqMaster journey began over a decade ago, beginning with the prototyping, research and development of what is today Thornhill Medical’s MOVES® SLC™. 

Designed for portability and ease of use in extreme conditions, MOVES® SLC™ micro-integrates an oxygen concentrator, a unique O2-conserving ventilator, suction, and complete patient monitoring into a single, compact, battery-operated system. The resulting portable life support system, with critical care capabilities, meets the needs of emergency health care providers, military medical teams and disaster relief responders.  In 2020, MOVES® SLC™ systems were acquired by the Governments of Canada and Ontario to aid in the fight against COVID-19, with Thornhill Medical significantly ramping up production to meet the moment.  In addition, the technology is deployed by various Armed Forces.

One of the design features of the MOVES® SLC™ is an on-device embedded screen that displays patient monitoring data in real-time and system alerts.  This is critical for health care practitioners to understand patient need and status throughout care, to determine appropriate interventions.  As the MOVES® SLC™ is often used in small spaces, for example transport vehicles, the ability to flip the screen to operate from either side is critical to care providers.  This is where the TorqMaster hinge comes into play.  

TorqMaster has reliably provided Thornhill Medical with a hinge that makes the embedded screen tilt-feature feasible and reliable in austere environments such as exposure to dust, sand, rain, temperature extremes, mechanical shock and vibration.

Providing CAD files, selection guidance relative to the application, and development samples to integrate and evaluate, TorqMaster worked with the Thornhill Team in exploring mechanical design considerations.  With a large selection of existing solutions and geometry, TorqMaster had the standard designs that allowed Thornhill to prototype and initiate production without the high costs or lead time associated with a custom hinge solution. And TorqMaster was able to quickly respond to the rapidly increasing production demands at the start of the COVID crisis.

TorqMaster has been at Thornhill’s service throughout this journey and remains committed to the program.