Updated Nov 12, 2020
Universal Anaesthesia Machine (UAM)
https://www.gradianhealth.org/uam
Sofia Stafford
The UAM is the first internationally-certified anesthesia machine that can generate its own medical oxygen and work without electricity.
With a built-in oxygen concentrator, standard connections for other oxygen sources, and key features on battery backup, the UAM uses a combination of continuous-flow and draw-over technologies to deliver general anesthesia safely in any setting.
It has a built-in oxygen concentrator to generate its own medical-grade oxygen from room air (without external oxygen source); draw-over mode, which...
SEE ALLStage 5: Scaling
Problem
Despite global reductions in maternal and child mortality, women and newborns are still dying at alarming rates during childbirth, especially in rural, low-resource regions of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, many governments have turned to policies focused on comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (CEmONC) as a necessity for reducing maternal and newborn deaths. General anesthesia is a core signal function of CEmONC—needed to ensure the safety of C-sections and other procedures—but at rural health facilities, the inputs needed to offer quality anesthesia are stifled by limitations in physical and human resources, leaving thousands of women and newborns without adequate care to survive childbirth.
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Solution
The UAM is paired with comprehensive simulation-based training and local technicians certified to provide preventative and reactive maintenance to every UAM in the field. First, the UAM. As a means of reducing maternal and newborn mortality, many countries prioritize comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care capacity at the first facility women go to give birth in rural districts. In these settings, basic infrastructure affecting quality of anesthesia care is insufficient: many facilities lack reliable oxygen and steady access to electricity, both of which are required for safe anesthesia care. The UAM has been procured by governments and individuals for its ability to thrive in such settings: when there is power, it will generate its own medical oxygen without the need for an external source; if the power goes out, it will connect to any other oxygen source and continue ventilating and monitoring the patient on battery backup; and if both power and oxygen fail, the UAM will continue delivering anesthesia safely using room air. The UAM also comes with a three-year warranty covering annual maintenance, repairs, spare parts and ongoing customer support. The UAM is augmented by simulation-based training and mentorship—as a means of skills development, evaluation, and product-specific practice. This "package" of the UAM, service warranty, and trainings provides an innovative solution to these realities.
Target Beneficiaries
Gradian works primarily in rural hospitals in sub-Sahran Africa, with our biggest presence in East and West Africa. Our UAM serves any patient who requires any type of surgery requiring access to inhalational anesthesia. We know that the most common procedure supported by the UAM is emergency c-sections, meaning that it is most often used for female patients of child-bearing years.
The Team Behind the Innovation
EXECUTIVE TEAM INCLUDES WOMEN
Milestone
Jan 2019
New Country Implemented In
Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Mozambique, Liberia and Kenya
Date Unknown
New Country Implemented In
Guinea
Date Unknown
New Country Implemented In
Ethiopia
Date Unknown
New Country Implemented In
Zambia
Date Unknown
New Country Implemented In
Tanzania
Date Unknown
New Country Implemented In
Sierra Leone
