ABSTRACT
These are various fluid and microfluid devices used in the medical industry, particularly volumetric pumps for drug delivery, in which a rotational or flexible component (gears, blades, membranes etc.) pumps fluid from suction to propulsion. They work with less loss if input and output valves are used whose opening and closure are synchronised with the pumping cycle. In these small devices, using intelligent materials as actuators helps reduce the end size. Different microvalve designs have been developed using SMA wires as active components to help control opening and closure (Krulevitch et al., 1996; Suzumori et al., 2005; Asao et al., 2005 among others).
