A newly developed pump device could enable precise chemical measurements in very remote areas — even those on other planets.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently published a study on a small, inexpensive peristaltic pump, a variety of vacuum pump required in precise chemical analyzers known as mass spectrometers.
Mass spectrometers, researchers wrote, are used for a wide range of applications — including blood tests and ensuring the safety of drinking water — but the size of conventional peristaltic pumps limits their ability to be transported.
The MIT device, however, is roughly the size of an adult human fist, and it can be efficiently produced with just a single pass on a multi-material 3D printer. It also can prevent gas or fluid leaks while curbing the amount of heat produced by friction during pumping, which would lengthen the pump’s lifetime.
Researchers said the technology could be cost-effectively deployed in a portable mass spectrometer, which could more easily be shipped to remote locations or launched into space — for example, to conduct testing on Mars.
The paper’s senior author and a principal scientist in MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories, Fernando Velásquez-García, told MIT News it was “groundbreaking.” Acknowledging the role of 3D printing, he said that it “wouldn’t have been anywhere close” if it had been done through traditional methods.
