Researchers at University of Arizona College of Medicine have invented a new device that provides oxygen and support for people that need respiratory assistance for the COVID-19 outbreak.
The device is a small-scale, low-pressure rebreathing system that removes carbon dioxide and introduces a mixture of helium and oxygen to the respiratory airways. The device could help a coronavirus patient earlier in the process and might reduce the need for ventilators.
Phoenix-based startup SaiOx licensed the intellectual property for the invention, called Hespiro, from the university.
Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, professor of medicine and chief of the UA Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, and Dr. Marvin Slepian, regents professor of medicine and director of the Arizona Center for Accelerated Biomedical Innovation, created the device.
