Page 13 - EngineerIt January 2021

SOUTH AFRICAN INNOVATION

Efficient oxygen use
The overwhelming need of COVID-19
pneumonia patients is oxygen, says Dr
Parker. “The high oxygen level delivered
by the device ensures that maximum
oxygen content is available to diseased
lungs. The valve on the device maintains
slight pressure to prevent lungs from
collapsing when the patient breathes out,
and reduces the amount of work it takes
to breathe.
Furthermore, as oxygen supply can
be adjusted to patient demand, less
oxygen is usually required. In our oxygen
resource-constrained environment this is
a game changer.
Lead doctor: Dr Craig Parker, a medical Project manager: Trevor Rossouw, a
It allows even the most basic
officer working in anaesthetics with a civil engineer with a background in
facilities, which are dependent on bottled background in mechanical engineering. project and business management.
oxygen or small oxygen concentrators, to
provide a higher level of care than they
are currently able to.” vouch for their utility in these unprecedented times.”
• Dr Carolyn Mason, a specialist physician in internal medicine in East London in the
Field testing state sector, has personally used over 40 devices, mainly selecting patients aged 40
The device has been used successfully to 70 years who, due to comorbidities, would not have been ICU candidates. “Their
in environments ranging from rural baseline oxygen saturations were all horrific and terrifying even to the point of 20%.
clinics to specialist hospitals, and by all What was so amazing for me as a health care professional was to see the saturation
levels of staff. improve to 90% and to eventually successfully discharge these patients; this was a
Hundreds of OxERAs have already blessing as they would not have survived.”
been distributed to 25 hospitals from • Dr Warren Gregorowski, working in Internal Medicine at Frere Hospital in East
Cape Town to Pretoria, says Umoya London, says: “The device is very simple to assemble and user friendly. I have
Project Manager Trevor Rossouw, a civil witnessed this device saving lives and I think that it could be used to great effect in
engineer with a background in project hospitals throughout South Africa.”
and business management. These
include the Volkswagen COVID-19 field The device is SAHPRA-approved for use during the COVID-19 emergency period. Interest
hospital, Frere and Cecilia Makiwane in the device should gather momentum as clinical trials are being arranged at Chris Hani
Hospitals and many of the academic Baragwaneth Academic Hospital which offers specialist services to referred patients. n
hospitals in the country.
Many rural hospitals such as Zithulele OxERA devices are available through Gabler Medical: info@gablermedical.com
on the Wild Coast and Madwaleni near
Elliotdale have benefited from the
devices. They have also been used by
GPs for home and clinic treatment.
Devices have also been distributed as
far as Zimbabwe, DRC and the Central
African Republic.

Medical personnel who have seen and
tested the device have been impressed
by its simplicity of use, oxygen efficiency
and clinical effectiveness.
• Dr Michael Webb, a physician
working in private practice in
East London, has treated
COVID-19 patients since the
initial outbreak. He bought 10
masks on 24 December and by
1 January had treated a number
of patients using them. “I am
personally very grateful to have ISO13485 certification: Reiner Gabler, MD of long-established Gabler Medical, which will
access to these masks and can manufacture and distribute the device, with the unit.

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