{"id":5882,"date":"2017-08-30T15:15:37","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T15:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpip.gmu.edu\/?p=5882"},"modified":"2026-04-02T20:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:35:49","slug":"innovate4health-new-oxygen-machine-technology-confronts-blackouts-in-emerging-nations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/2017\/08\/30\/innovate4health-new-oxygen-machine-technology-confronts-blackouts-in-emerging-nations\/","title":{"rendered":"[Archived Post] Innovate4Health: New Oxygen Machine Technology Confronts Blackouts in Emerging Nations"},"content":{"rendered":"
This post is one of a series in the #Innovate4Health<\/a> policy research initiative.<\/em>\"Innovate4HealthBy Andrew B. Levey<\/em><\/p>\n

Oxygen therapy, where supplemental oxygen is used as a medical treatment, is vital<\/a> to children with pneumonia. Rolling blackouts in Uganda<\/a> and other developing nations<\/a>, which can last for hours at a time, are stopping oxygen concentrators\u2014machines that concentrate oxygen from the ambient air\u2014from providing this vital therapy. Problems are worse in more remote places that lack an electricity infrastructure in the first place. As a result, children already vulnerable to pneumonia are denied effective treatment. Currently, pneumonia accounts for at least 18% of all deaths of children under 5 years old.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization<\/a> has stated<\/a> that methods for providing oxygen are needed in low resource settings to combat poor energy infrastructure and theft of needed supplies. Through their FREO2 Foundation<\/a>, Professors Roger Rassool<\/a> and Jim Black<\/a> of the University of Melbourne are tackling this problem with the FREO2 \u2013 Siphon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FREO2<\/a> has improved<\/a> upon existing oxygen concentrator technology by locally storing oxygen at low pressure, available when needed to supplement a disconnection of energy to the machine. While developing a new approach to the technology, the team managed to keep costs low and produce a product suitable for remote relocations vulnerable to blackouts. Lack of reliable electricity has been addressed in other ways<\/a>, but those methods are only sufficient for larger, more established medical facilities. More remote and desolate clinics needed a different solution.<\/p>\n

Professors Rassool and Black developed a concentrator which utilizes running stream water to create a low-pressure vacuum, which can be used to separate oxygen from the air in the environment. The team determined that the central issue is not specifically energy related, but a matter of creating a difference in air pressure to create air flow. The final product is cost efficient, easy to use, and simple to operate. Taking a step back and re-imagining the basic concepts of an oxygen concentrator allowed the team to arrive at the conclusion that electricity was not needed. A working prototype<\/a> is already operating in Gippsland, Australia, with planned expansion to other countries. Professor Rassool is conducting operational and field work studies in Uganda to begin implementation of the device where it is needed most.<\/p>\n

FREO2\u2019s patent application<\/a> describes the foundational innovation. Concentrating oxygen from the atmosphere involves passing air over a \u201cmolecular sieve,\u201d which removes nitrogen and leaves primarily oxygen behind.\u00a0The energy to move the air across the sieve in older technology was electricity creating high pressure to push air into the sieve. Figure 2 from the patent application shows how a siphon operating between two levels of water can accomplish the same goal by pulling the air instead of pushing. The water flowing through the siphon will draw in air, shown in typical patent fashion with a number (13) and a line. Drawing in air creates a vacuum that can be used to pull air into the sieve and concentrate the oxygen.<\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/p>\n

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation<\/a> and numerous others<\/a> have recognized the value of the innovation, awarding the inventors funding to continue research, development, and deployment of their invention. FREO2 is posed to continue its research and manufacturing into the near future. Ultimately, the inventors hope to bring their start up to Australia whereby they would establish a network within the community and potentially form manufacturing capabilities for future deployments. As the inventors note, they have a long road ahead but the rewards to be reaped are great.<\/p>\n

The FREO2 device will save lives. As the inventors emphasize, the innovative technology allows remote clinics to keep oxygen concentrators performing by simply utilizing available water sources, which will support their primary mission\u2014saving lives. And the benefits of IP protection will help assure that they fulfill their mission.<\/p>\n

\n

#Innovate4Health<\/a> is a joint research project by the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property<\/a> (CPIP) and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation<\/a> (ITIF). This project highlights how intellectual property-driven innovation can address global health challenges. If you have questions, comments, or a suggestion for a story we should highlight, we\u2019d love to hear from you. Please contact Devlin Hartline at jhartli2@gmu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is one of a series in the #Innovate4Health policy research initiative.By Andrew B. Levey Oxygen therapy, where supplemental oxygen is used as a medical treatment, is vital to children with pneumonia. Rolling blackouts in Uganda and other developing nations, which can last for hours at a time, are stopping oxygen concentrators\u2014machines that concentrate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3627,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,26],"tags":[134,575,701,771,1055,1065,1143,1254,1519],"class_list":["post-5882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-innovate4health","category-innovation-2","tag-andrew-levey","tag-freo2","tag-innovate4health","tag-jim-black","tag-oxygen-concentrator","tag-patent","tag-pneumonia","tag-roger-rassool","tag-university-of-melbourne"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3627"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5882"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16524,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5882\/revisions\/16524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/ualawip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}