Phenomenal Times Call for Phenomenal Measures
During the COVID crisis, hospitals began running out of oxygen, compelling us to question whether, or not, we were using it correctly? The high mortality rate of COVID patients gave us cause to look more closely at what was really happenning. Particularly for those patients who were prescribed ventilators early on in their treatment.
Given the high mortality rate of patients on ventilators, we asked ourselves what we could do to reduce the number of people requiring mechanical ventilation devices. This suggested that oxygen without mechanics can keep people alive. Is it simple? The delivered oxygen to the patients face mask will only enter the lungs if the flow rate matches that of the patient. We can help for the very first time by being able to measure the tidal Peak Inspiratory Flow Rate (PIFR) with each breath.
Current computer-controlled oxygen delivery devices do not measure the PIFR of each patient. But, if we know this value we can release pulses of oxygen that flow at the same rate as the PIFR. And, moreover, we can use a wrist band oximeter to take account of the patient’s oxygen saturation (SpO2) to determine the precise dose of oxygen that should be delivered in each pulse. We can then maintain the SpO2 between 93-98% without requiring continuous clinician supervision.
Why should the stress in Critical Care Units be so intensive when automation can remove uncertainty? Our extensive and intensive studies show that ventilators can be avoided completely by dispensing oxygen with precision . And we can do this according to each individual patient’s needs minute by minute.
It is not about one breath but about delivering oxygen for each and every breath correctly.
The COVID phenomenon provided us with previously unimagined conditions to think quickly and create innovations that will continue to serve the needs of patients long after the pandemic. And they will do this for many more pulmonary diseases than COVID itself.
Why not deliver oxygen at the same rate as the patients tidal PIFR?
According to a critical care unit study, the measured tidal Peak Inspiratory Flow Rates (PIFR) of COVID-19 patients were recorded between 30 L/min to 40 L/min. Crudely we can then estimate that if the patient’s PIFR is 40 L/min and the oxygen flow rate is 15 L/min then the maximum Fractional Inspired Oxygen into the lungs will be 15/40 = 37%. Surely, then, we should be trying to match the two flow rates to gain the greater amount of oxygen entering the lungs.
But the flow rate of the patient’s inspiration has never been measured and, as a consequence, oxygen delivery remains entrenched in 19th century medical technology. Technology does change and inspired by “Inspiration”, we began challenging the 138-year-old method of delivering oxygen to patients with respiratory failure. If you don’t know your critical care patient’s inspiratory flow, how do you know what flow rate of oxygen is needed? Archaic devices dispense oxygen with a 40% margin of error; we need a 21st century solution.
A revolution is needed
- We should accept that breath by breath monitoring and delivery of oxygen should no longer be a manual task for the clinician.
- We should insist that the tidal PIFR should be measured continuously - breath by breath- whether in CCUs or at-home.
- We should use modern technology to save lives.
- We should automate the delivery of oxygen to normalize saturation (SpO2).
- We should use the patient’s own breathing efforts to draw oxygen into their lungs.
. Oxygen is the source of life; We should not waste it.
We have developed a robotic device to facilitate precise oxygen dosing for patients with acute or chronic respiratory failure. We release a pulse of oxygen exactly at the start of a breath and at precisely the same flow rate as the patient’s inspiratory flow rate.
“A small idea, with resolute ambition CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.”
Tim Higgenbottam, CEO and Founder, Camcon Robotics