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Cost effective fortified oxygen therapy
With the increasing trend in number of acute respiratory infection (ARI) cases and heart-related ailments is clearly discernible worldwide, a cost-effective device that provides fortified oxygen therapy in home settings is certainly of a massive help for those chronic patients who can’t afford the luxury of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) services in the country, especially in rural areas.
Hyderabad: With the increasing trend in number of acute respiratory infection (ARI) cases and heart-related ailments is clearly discernible worldwide, a cost-effective device that provides fortified oxygen therapy in home settings is certainly of a massive help for those chronic patients who can’t afford the luxury of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) services in the country, especially in rural areas.
Thanks to Hyderabad-based pulmonologist Prof. PV Prabhakar Rao, who hitherto had worked with the paramilitary forces and already had three patents to his credit, has now come out with a device that lets poor patients escape the high-cost Intensive Care Unit (ICU) expenses by providing life-saving oxygen at their home.
Rao, who is currently a medical director of the MNR Medical College and Hospital, said: “The device is designed to supply oxygen 16 hours at a stretch. It costs around Rs 20,000, including refundable money of Rs 5,000 for the cylinder. The refill will cost RS 1,000. The models available in the market are pricey, above Rs 60,000. Moreover, the device which runs without electricity can be dismantled whenever the need is over.”
A bulk cylinder will be arranged in the home with flow of oxygen through copper tubes to the patients. This oxygen gets released by pressure gradient to the copper tube fixed on the wall. The pressure gauge is attached to the oxygen cylinder. At the terminal point there will be humidified bottle controlled with a flow volume meter.
This humidified oxygen is connected to the patients with a mask or nasal prongs. The oxygen is supplied with a flow rate of 1 to 15 liters with the special venture device. There will be a backup small cylinder for the transit delay. When the bulk cylinder is exhausted another refill will be supplied at the earliest.
Rao, who recently approached the Patent Office in Chennai seeking patent rights for the device, wants the support of the government in reaching out the needy with his apparatus. He argues that his device is dependable and suitable even for setting up of Oxygen Pubs, a facility where people may go and rejuvenate themselves with a purified dose of oxygen.
The low cost devices can be made available with the support of the government for the benefit of the poor suffering from chronic bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, heart-related problems and breathlessness (especially in pregnant women), Rao opines. Rao, who is a Fellow of American College of Chest Physicians, designed three patented products - Transoropharyngeal spacer (TOPS), Rotanebuliser and Pranavayu – Oxyneb.
