Help for Children —
Some infants and children have chronic lung conditions that require supplemental oxygen delivery at night to keep their blood oxygen levels within normal ranges. The supplemental oxygen is not for life support, but it is crucial to maintain normal growth and to prevent pulmonary hypertension, which is a common complication of chronic hypoxemia. The challenge is that most of these children do not comply well with having a nasal cannula taped to their face, so they make administering oxygen very difficult.
The Background Story
Ann’s son was diagnosed with a lung disease called Neuroendocrine Hyperplasia of Infancy (NEHI) at 6 months of age. This disease requires him to be on oxygen at night. She was given two options for home delivery: a nasal cannula or a mask. (Oxygen tents are not safe for in-home use for various reasons.) When she brought him home and tried the cannula, he promptly pulled it off his face. They tried tape and Tendergrips and nothing would keep the cannula on when he grabbed it. So, the pulmonologist told her to place her son’s arms in special splints and tape the nasal cannula to his face and said “he would get used to it”.
Bedtime became a nightmare of wrestling, crying, and screaming until he would fall asleep from exhaustion. This continued until he was a little more than 1 year old, when he figured out how to remove the Velcro straps on the splints. At that point, his desperate parents turned up the oxygen concentrator and taped the oxygen tubing to a teddy bear and placed it near his face on a “blow-by system”. Then they would take shifts staying up and moving the teddy bear every time he would turn over.
Some infants and children have chronic lung conditions that require supplemental oxygen delivery at night to keep their blood oxygen levels within normal ranges. The supplemental oxygen is not for life support, but it is crucial to maintain normal growth and to prevent pulmonary hypertension, which is a common complication of chronic hypoxemia. The challenge is that most of these children do not comply well with having a nasal cannula taped to their face, so they make administering oxygen very difficult. We are developing a fully non-contacting method of delivering supplemental overnight oxygen to children eliminating the need for nasal cannulas and face masks.
Hope for Families —
We are developing a fully non-contacting method of delivering supplemental overnight oxygen to children eliminating the need for nasal cannulas and face masks.The main features of this product include:
- Hood structure to help contain the supplemental oxygen
- Positional sensor system
- Oxygen delivery system
The main features of this product include:
- Hood structure to help contain the supplemental oxygen
- Positional sensor system
- Oxygen delivery system
Current Activities Include:
- Finalizing product design and performance parameters
- Preparing for Design Verification activities
- Developing marketing plan
Project History:
- September 2008, Senior Design Project initiated with University of St. Thomas School of Engineering
- Winter 2009, Industrial Design Project initiated with University of Wisconsin – Stout
- Spring 2009, Regulatory Strategy developed with St. Cloud State University
- Prototype demonstration at annual chILD Foundation conference, summer 2009
- Fall 2009, OPOD chosen as a New Technology Showcase Winner from LifeScience Alley
- Spring 2010, Senior Design Project initiated with University of Minnesota Mechanical Engineering
If you have interest in volunteering to help with this project please visit the Support Us section of the website.