Long term oxygen therapy has known survival benefits for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but adherence to this therapy is frequently very low. Despite the introduction of the new Home Oxygen Service (HOS) in 2006, standard NHS ambulatory oxygen systems have frequently been found to be not fit for purpose, as their weight and size have been prohibitive to many patients using them as intended. In response, our team have recently developed a new, light-weight, ergonomically sound ambulatory oxygen delivery system to overcome these issues specifically for patients with COPD, funded by the former Health Technology Devices (HTD) programme. The close interaction with patients, carers and HOS providers, that our team has facilitated throughout our current HTD project, has highlighted a further breakthrough that could be achieved via the introduction of electronics to deliver an intuitive, patient-friendly, flow control and user interface. This would improve patient confidence and satisfaction with the product, whilst helping adherence, improving quality of life and potentially reducing mortality and morbidity, whilst also allowing health care professionals to monitor treatment and oxygen usage.
This project aims to transform the way that patients, carers and healthcare professionals interact with oxygen equipment by creating an intelligent oxygen cylinder. We aim to review the entire system structure to bring together innovative new components into a single, patient-centred design. We have a number of known deliverables we can achieve within this project and some higher-risk innovations we believe will be the way forward. Our new valve regulator (patent filed) will be embedded within the system to allow the control of both pressure and flow to far greater accuracy than any other products currently available. We also aim to develop an intuitive digital patient display interface to replace conventional gauge technology, which is currently both difficult to read and unreliable. Our system will be flexible enough to use whatever resource it can identify within its local environment. This could mean recognition of a pulse oximeter on the patient's body, or recognition of a receiver device such as a telehealth care portal. Throughout the project we aim to combine parallel input from engineers, designers, patients, carers and clinicians to ensure the final product is easy to use and fit for purpose. Finally, we aim to ensure that the final product is cost-effective and affordable within the UK NHS.
Project team
Anne Bruton ab7@soton.ac.uk
Claire Chadwick C.E.Chadwick@soton.ac.uk
External
Luxfer Gas Cylinders Ltd
Michael Clinch
FXK Developments
Francis Kay
Norgren
Richard Edwards REdwards@norgren.com
Graeme Maisey Limited
Graeme Maisey graeme@graememaisey.com
DC Allen Limited
Tim Allen timallen@dcallen.co.uk
Project funder
Department of Health - Invention for Innovation programme