Omega Flex
Medical Gas Tubing that Bends to a Facilitys Needs

For a long time in healthcare institutions, the installation, upgrades and repairs of medical gas piping systems were restricted to the traditional installation methods of hard-drawn seamless copper pipe. That was until MediTrac, a division of corrugated products manufacturer Omega Flex, released the first innovative corrugated medical tubing (CMT), an NFPA 99 compliant product that meets all local and federal requirements for healthcare installations.

With a fire-retardant polymer coating, MediTrac is safe and flexible for any new, renovated, or retrofitted medical, dental, clinic, or care facility. And because of the flexibility of the product, the MediTrac CMT is inherently seismic resistant. The innovative tubing’s advantages were best displayed in MediTrac’s undertaking of the expansion and renovation of the Exceptional Dentistry project in Dixon, Illinois, in collaboration with JPI MedGas of Batavia, Illinois. In this multi-phase project, the partners were working on building a completely new medical gas system in the renovated dental clinic. When the installation of the complete project would have typically taken 40 work hours for one installer, using the MediTrac in combination with small portions of traditional copper cut down the project time by 40 percent. Before MediTrac’s involvement, numerous existing utilities and obstructions limited the installation workspace and increased the risk involved with hot work. The use of MediTrac CMT resulted in the completion of the project two days earlier than planned, with less risk of hot work in the tight ceiling system, and allowed them to reduce the joints in the system by 60 percent.

An engineering-driven company, Omega Flex’s goal for MediTrac is to assist installers by providing a safer installation. “MediTrac provides healthcare facilities with a decreased construction time while reducing contamination, allowing them to have their facilities up and running sooner,” says Dean W. Rivest, Executive Vice President of Omega Flex.

“It allows the institutions to get patients back into the facility in a shorter amount of time.”

Because of MediTrac’s swift installation times, the company was chosen to work in collaboration with the US Army Corps of Engineers for a number of temporary hospitals during the first COVID-19 wave. Not only can the product be installed nearly five times faster than the conventional rigid medical gas pipe, but it has also been proven to be more cost-effective in many cases as well. MediTrac’s flexible medical gas tubing even played an integral role in The Cleveland Clinic’s rapid deployment of 250 new temporary patient care locations. The mechanical contractor involved in the deployment pre-assembled and tested segments of MediTrac, after which the assemblies were used for the rapid connection of new portable headwalls into the piping system. Their use of MediTrac combined with other piping methods made for a quicker, cleaner, and flame-free install, enabling them to conclude the entire project within record time.

On account of its flexibility, MediTrac stands unique as the first of its kind in medical gas tubing that can go in long continuous lengths, minimizing the need for intermediate joints. They have mechanically attached, axial swaged fittings that significantly reduce assembly time while increasing safety, decreasing possible contamination, and overall yielding a much safer cost-effective installation.

Omega Flex, being a US-based manufacturer, has multiple facilities within the U.S., which allows them to provide a very quick turnaround to the delivery of their product. With one or two technical service engineers for every first installation, Omega Flex ensures completion of all of the training onsite. Such technical support is what sets the company apart as they provide all of the resources to support the product, covering everything from remote to onsite assistance.

With MediTrac as one of Omega Flex’s latest developments, the company at the moment focuses on fully commercializing the product. “We’re continuing to roll out MediTrac, as we take it to the next level and make it even more widely known,” says Rivest.