Breathing easier: KMITL introduces mobile oxygen concentrator
King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) has revealed its latest innovation – the country’s first mobile high-flow oxygen concentrator, a medical device that increases the survivability of critical Covid-19 patients and those with severe respiratory diseases.
“The portability of the machine will enable small and medium hospitals in provincial areas to treat critical patients efficiently,” Prof Dr Natthaphol Reukkasemsan, head of the research project at KMITL’s Faculty of Engineering, noted.
Patients who can benefit from this machine include those suffering from pertussis, tuberculosis, pneumonitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, anemia due to excessive blood loss, carbon monoxide poisoning, and lung paralysis from clostridium botulinum infection.
Natthaphol pointed out that people in remote areas have high exposure to the clostridium botulinum bacteria, which can be found in locally made pickled bamboo shoots. The infection can cause acute lung paralysis, which can be fatal as patients in more remote areas are often not transferred to better-equipped hospitals in big cities in time.
Natthaphol said the Covid-19 outbreak and the increasing level of PM2.5 air pollution in several provinces of Thailand inspired KMITL researchers to work on the mobile high-flow oxygen concentrator to ensure effective treatment for patients in remote areas.
“Critical Covid-19 patients require high-flow nasal cannula machines, which are available only in large hospitals,” he said. “Moreover, only 20% of hospitals in Thailand are equipped with a high-pressure piping system that can accommodate liquid oxygen canisters, which this machine needs.”
Researchers estimate that some 700 hospitals in provincial areas will not be able to treat severe respiratory patients due to a lack of necessary machines and infrastructure.
“This is where the mobile high-flow oxygen concentrator comes in, as it can provide high-flow oxygen to patients without the need for liquid oxygen canisters,” said Natthaphol, adding that the machine uses a molecular sieve to create and store oxygen, and can work around the clock in providing concentrated oxygen to patients at appropriate pressures.
The mobile high-flow oxygen concentrator can produce oxygen with over 85% purity at a flow rate of over 40 litres per second and not less than 3.7 atmospheric pressure. It can be mobilised using only one staff member and can therefore be deployed at any hospital around the country.
The machine won a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, Switzerland earlier this year, as well as the 2024 Best Medical Innovation Award from the National Research Council of Thailand.
