SBIR-STTR Award

Home care inhalation therapy requires a ready supply of oxygen for patient comfort. Unfortunately, available techniques for supplying oxygen all suffer from major drawbacks. The most notable common problem is excessive weight which limits patient mobility both inside and outside the home.The objective of this research is to demonstrate the feasibility of developing a truly portable home care unit for inhalation therapy based upon A/G Technology Corporation's recently developed advanced hollow-'fiber membrane cartridges. The hollow-fiber membrane geometry is exceptionally compact and can be housed in lightweight, plastic housings. This compactness, combined with the high oxygen productivity of the A/G Technology membranes may serve to free chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outpatients from oxygen supply system portability limitations.A portable oxygen-generating system will become an important innovation in COPD outpatient care for the estimated 450,000 patients currently receiving inhalation therapy at home. The commercial application of this technology will not be limited to just those patients who must have portable oxygen units, rather it is applicable to all COPD outpatients since the proposed hollow-fiber membrane unit offers greater safety and convenience compared to bottled oxygen and significantly quieter operation than molecular sieve, pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen "concentrators."National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Home-care inhalation therapy requires a ready supply of oxygen for patient comfort. Unfortunately, available techniques for supplying oxygen all suffer major drawbacks. The most notable common problem is excessive weight which limits patient mobility inside and outside the home.The objective of this research is to demonstrate the efficacy of a truly portable home-care unit for inhalation therapy based upon A/G Technology Corporation's recently developed advanced hollow fiber membrane cartridges A breadboard unit constructed during Phase 1 with projected oxygen flow an concentration characteristics equivalent to 1 liter/minute pure oxygen weighed about 15 lbs, occupied 0.6 cu. ft and had power consumption of 100 watts. Improvements in packaging to be performed in this Phase will reduc the unit's weight to under 13 lbs.In a Consortium Arrangement with Beth Israel Hospital (Boston, MA) laboratory and human studies are planned to test portable enricher equivalency to 1 to 2 liters/min of nominal 100% oxygen, demonstrate that no patient risks result from atmospheric pollutant concentration, determin if any potential for nosocomial infection exists and to confirm patient acceptability of the portable enrichers.

Thesaurus Terms:
Biomedical Engineering, Instrumentation Clinically Oriented Biomedical Engineering, Medical Equipment Safety Biomedical Engineering, Technology Development Diseases, Chronic Diseases Environment, Atmospheric Pressure, Compression-Decompression Health, Physical Activity Health Care Facilities, Outpatient Facilities Health Care Services, Home Care Health Care Services, Patient Care Human, Clinical Respiratory Assist And Oxygen Administration, Oxygen Inhalation Therapy Respiratory Disorders, Respiratory Airflow Disorders Respiratory Gases, Oxygen Therapy Evaluation, HumanNational Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)