Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology on Tuesday started clinical trial of ‘OxyJet’, a low-cost C-PAP ventilator device to meet the oxygen needs and high-speed ventilation of corona affected people.
This device can be used without any kind of electrical power by connecting it to an oxygen cylinder or a medical oxygen line.
Patients with Covid-19 disease are first given low doses of oxygen (low-flow oxygen therapy, 0-15 L/min). But if this small dose does not improve the patient’s condition, high-flow oxygen is required which can prevent the patient from deteriorating.
At a time when the corona outbreak is at its peak, hospitals in our country
often do not have adequate supply of high-flow nasal cannula. In addition, these devices are expensive and using techniques are complex, which in many cases requires skilled workers.
The researchers believe that the easy-to-use OxyJet C-PAP will help filling this gap. OxyJet C-PAP ventilators can deliver high-speed oxygen to the general ward at a low cost and will help patients reduce ICU admissions.
The device has been tested by BUET’s Department of Biomedical Engineering in accordance with the ‘UK-MHRA Rapidly Manufactured CPAP systems guideline.’

In the meantime, with the approval of the Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC), it has successfully passed the first and second stages of the clinical trial and obtained permission for the third stage.
“In the second phase, 5 patients with oxygen deficiency (hypoxic) were treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. OxyJet CPAP increased the blood oxygen level (oxygen saturation) of patients by an average of 11.2% within 1 hour of treatment,” says the principal investigator of the project.
The Principal investigator of this trial is Dr Taufiq Hasan, (Assistant Professor, BME, BUET), and the Co-Investigators are Dr Md Titu Miah (Professor & Principal, DMC), Dr. Robed Amin (Former Professor, DMC; Director, Non-Communicable Diseases Control) and other physicians at DMC.
In this phase of the clinical trial, a total of 40 patients will be enrolled and treated with OxyJet CPAP and HFNC devices through randomization.
“We highly encourage the innovative and impactful research work at BUET. The newly formed Research and Innovation Centre for Science and Engineering (RISE) at BUET will be responsible for filing patents and technology transfer of such innovations in the future,” said Prof Dr Satya Prasad Majumder, Vice-Chancellor of BUET.
The OxyJet CPAP project is being funded by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Academy Establishment (iDEA) by the ICT Division of the Government of Bangladesh.
The project also received unconditional donations from Ankur International Foundation and Manush Manusher Jonno Foundation.
OxyJet Team consists of Meemnur Rashid, Kaisar Ahmed Alman, Farhan Muhib, Md. Kawsar Ahmed and Saeedur Rahman.

 

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