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FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Medical equipment data
Health topic Maternal mortality
Child mortality
Health classification Diagnosis
FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Project data
Location South Africa
Made No
Replicated No
OKH Manifest Download

Problem being addressed

Deficiency of iron can restrict the transport of oxygen in the blood. This can cause birth asphyxia, affecting 40-60% of children ages 6-24 months in low-resource settings. Detecting low oxygen levels in patients when it is too late can permanently impede cognitive development, cause organ failure, or even death.

Detailed description of the solution

This durable, low-cost pulse oximetry probe is placed on a thin part of the patient's body (fingertip, earlobe) or on the foot of an infant. It's oximeter measures the saturation of oxygen in the blood of newborns, sick children, and mothers undergoing cesarean sections. The device's power is derived via a "wind-up" mechanism, so it can be used anywhere away from electrical power sources.

Designed by

  • Designed by: Power-Free Education and Technology, lead by John Wyatt
  • Manufacturer (if different):
  • Manufacturer location: South Africa

When and where it was tested/implemented

South Africa, United Kingdom, 2011

Funding Source

Recipient of Grand Challenges Exploration Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

References

Peer-reviewed publication

Other internally generated reports

Externally generated reports

Grand Challenges in Global Health. (2013). Low-cost pulse oximetry probes for low resource settings. Retrieved December 1, 2013 from here.

Maternal and Neonatal Directed Assessment of Technology (2011). Description of oximetry probe. Retrieved December 1, 2013 from here.

IP and copyright

Approval by regulatory bodies or standards boards

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Part of Global Health Medical Device Compendium
SDG SDG03 Good health and well-being, SDG09 Industry innovation and infrastructure
Authors Caroline Soyars
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 0 pages link here
Impact 95 page views (more)
Created January 2, 2014 by Caroline Soyars
Last modified September 27, 2022 by Irene Delgado
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