Respiratory failure occurs when the body is unable to utilize sufficient enough oxygen to meet the body’s demands. This can be due to infections and accounts for about 4.9 million infant deaths annually in developing countries. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices are efficient in treatment but common models are too expensive to be used in low-resource health facilities.

Detailed description of the solution

The Baby Bubbler is a continuous positive airway pressure device that inflates the infant’s lungs and increases oxygenation while they are healing from a respiratory infection. This CPAP device is about $400 compared to common $6000 devices. The bubbler comes with a patient interface, CPAP generator, and flow generator that provides ambient air to the infant with the option of adding supplemental oxygen.

Designed by

• Designed by: InfantAir at Rice University
• Manufacturer (if different):
• Manufacturer location: Rice University

When and where it was tested/implemented

Molowi in 2012

Funding Source

Finalist in Saving Lives at Birth Competition

References