Duo-Vent

Respiratory diseases are the 2nd largest cause of death and is a leading cause of hospitalization in Bangladesh. Lung infection in patients is usually irregular i.e one lung is infected more than the other. But the existing ventilators provides the same high pressure and volume to both the lungs causing the non-infected lung to get highly damaged and is also the reason for an increase in the transfer of infection from one lung to other. Due to this inefficient treatment method ventilation time is prolonged to 15-20 days.  

To solve this problem we have developed 'AI-enabled Smart Duo-vent' which can provide lung isolation and independently-controlled ventilation so that pressure and volume for each lung can be controlled separately. It enhances the treatment and reduces hospitalization time thereby reducing the cost burden on the patients. Our aim is to serve the underprivileged population of developing countries like Bangladesh by providing affordable medical devices.

The Global Air Report 2017 statistics show that in Bangladesh around 1,22,400  people die each year from respiratory diseases and about 80,000 children below age 5 are admitted to hospital with the acute respiratory illness each year.

Current treatment protocols rely on conventional uniform pressure-controlled ventilators that provide positive pressure to both the lungs and it leads to multitude of potentially fatal conditions such as alveolar damage in the non-diseased lung, transfer of bacterial infection from the infected lung to non-infected one and reduction in breathing capacities as the alveoli lose their elasticity.  The daily total cost for a non-ventilated patient is Rs. 6585 ± 932  whereas that for a ventilated patient is Rs. 12,429 ± 9720. ICU ventilators are used for 3/10 of admitted patients with the rest 7/10 being treated at normal breathing without mechanical support due to lack of ventilators or unable to afford for ventilator cost. This increases the hospitalization days and adds to the shortage of ventilator for the others in the waiting list in the low-resource area. The high ventilation cost charged on the patient is the main reason why mechanical ventilation is not affordable for many in developing countries in Asia like Bangladesh and India.

We have done 8 months of clinical immersion in 15 hospitals and interacted with 54 clinicians around southern Asia to understand the unmet clinical needs in respiratory area. We majorly saw Respiratory infection in population from Bottom of the pyramid. As they cannot afford the charges for mechanical ventilation, they are forced to struggle with the respiratory problems throughout their life which adds to the high death rate due to respiratory diseases. Various studies have shown the rising out-of-pocket expenditures on healthcare is pushing around 32-39 million patients below the poverty line annually. About 23% of the sick can’t afford healthcare because of these payments. 

Enhanced treatment of the patient using our device will result in decreased hospitalization time and it will reduce the cost burden on the middle and low-income patient of developing countries. Our main aim is to make  mechanical ventilation affordable for low income groups so that they don't have to worry about the cost. By providing differential lung ventilation we will be able to reduce post ventilation complications, hence after treatment, they can lead a normal life without any breathing difficulty so DALYs (Disability-adjusted life years) of the patient is also reduced. 

We have developed an AI-enabled Smart and Cost-effective ventilation system called 'Duo-vent’ for patients in ICU with respiratory illnesses. It will provide lung isolation and independently controlled ventilation to each lung for unilateral lung infection or in conditions like ARDS where one lung is infected more than the other. This method of treatment will avoid ventilator-induced lung injury for the patients. 

The conventional method of monitoring for a patient under ventilation gives data for the complete lung not separately for the right and left side. Doctors were unaware of the recovery rate of the patient with lung infection and they have to be depended on the X-Ray report to control the ventilator parameters like FiO2, PEEP etc. Our unique Individual lung recovery rate monitoring can quantify the perfusion rate of oxygen in the inhaled air and CO2 retention in exhaled air specifically for infected lung. Using this data we can calculate the reduction in the amount of infection in the infected lung.  This feature will help to achieve Differential ventilation and it will reduce the alveolar damages like reduction in elasticity of alveolar tissue, increased chances of barotrauma, hypercapnia and hypoxia.

Artificial intelligence algorithms will be used to provide synchronous breathing and suggestion to change ventilation parameters by collecting the data from the sensors connected to the inlet and outlet of the system, SpO2, FiO2, body temperature and end-tidal carbon dioxide. AI in our device will be able to control ventilation system and it increases the safety of the patient by reducing the ventilator-associated lung injury, effectively ventilating the patient resulting in rapid weaning of the patient. This is an increasingly important factor in ventilator functioning, because the patient outcome may be markedly affected by asynchrony. 

The prime feature of Duo-Vent is to provide decision support during emergencies. The intelligent IoT enabled alerting technology will give alarm signal followed by a listing of potential causes and potential solutions.  

Each breath of the patient will be recorded and transferred via Wireless connectivity to enable telemedicine support. This feature enables caretakers to monitor patients remotely and proactively, allowing for fast and informed clinical decisions including early intervention, which can help avoid unnecessary readmission and lower cost of care.

Our unique idea of intelligent mechanical system that can provide independently controlled pressure to each lung and accurate individual lung recovery rate monitoring using pressure and flow sensors connected to the inlet and outlet of the ventilator system is very novel. These features are our unique innovations in our device when we compare all the known ventilator devices in Asia. Hence we are sure that the technology used in our product Duo-Vent have no overlapping patents with any existing technology. Also to avoid the heavy cost burden on the hospital our device will be available on rental basis and it will bring down the cost of ventilation by 80%

We analyzed the data generated after interacting with top doctors across 15 tertiary care centers in southern Asia. We have constantly iterated and taken design feedback with Medical Device experts who have 20+ years of experience in Medical device regulation and manufacturing. Hence we believe that our device Duo-Vent can solve the problem faced by patients and also the hospitals.

We are currently iterating the design of our prototype and in future we plan to go for clinical trials and clinical studies. We are estimating to serve about 4,000 people from the first 12 months after regulations and trials. We will build up costumer relationship via various channel such call, email, website, Product demo, workshops for Medical students. online meeting and direct meeting

In the next five years, our goal is to impact one billion people globally with our accessible and affordable respiratory solutions. We are going to build strategic partnership to access different markets and help the tertiary care hospitals get accessible respiratory products. 

We are classified as a class 2b medical device which is highly regulated and will have to get through all the testing to prove it is safe. We also need clinical data to put together with our technical file meaning that we need clinical trials to attain our CE mark (European medical device regulation). 

Regulatory process and clinical trials are the key barriers to implement our solution. Most of our funding and resources will be utilized to hire the right members for getting these processes done in order to commercialize our medical devices on time.

Currently there are very few medical device manufacturing companies in Bangladesh. High import duty increase the cost of medical devices. Hence there is a huge market opportunity for indigenous Medical device manufacturing and it will also enhance the employment opportunity for the local residents in Bangladesh.

The distributors would be attracted by giving out a buffering percentile margin with specific targets to be achieved. Initial sales of our product will primarily be through demonstrations and introductions made by one of the co-founders along with the marketing personnel to medical institutions to enhance customer relationship.  In the first half-year, a website will be developed, anticipating the introduction of the Duo-Vent and its broader target market. Customers will also be able to view our products online. The product description of Duo-Vent will be provided online this will enable the target customers to be aware of the applications, benefits, and costs of our products. Subscription-based sales will be the main channel of distribution for Duo-Vent. A Transport partner will be associated with our team to deliver our device to each hospital and collect it back at the end of the subscription. A large part of our year one promotional budget will be spent on travel in order to build good networks.

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We have a diverse team with skills and expertise that spans Execution and planning to Product design and software development.  Our team has doctors with 20+ years of experience and engineers with great skills to build anything that is cutting edge and has huge potential for disruptive market.

We are working closely with few Tertiary care hospitals in Hyderabad of India like Nizam's Institute of Medical sciences (NIMS), Kamineni Hospital, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology for clinical support and we are been mentored by Biomedical Engineering faculties of Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad for technical supports. Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship, is providing us incubation facilities and lab space to carry out our initial prototyping and bench testing of our Minimal Viable product in future.

Revenue Model:-

Our Device Duo-vent will be available on two different sales model subscription and direct sales, depending on customer requirements. Aerobiosys has not restricted itself to certain hospitals, it intends to reach both the advanced tertiary care centers and also the small hospitals who prefer a rental model for cost-effective purchase of medical devices.

Direct sales:-

This model is for the tertiary care hospitals who can spend on a one-time purchase of our device through direct sales. To build customer relationship and trust on the product we will provide 3yrs of free service and maintenance. A compulsory subscription on per year basis will commence in Year 4. This will cut down the hospital's maintenance cost for our ventilator by 40%.

Rental sales:-

In the subscription model, the small hospital and clinics will sign up for a subscription of the devices for one month to a minimum one week on a minimal charge. For the entire subscription period, we will provide free service and maintenance. Rented Duovent will be sanitized, calibrated and certified for re-use at the end of each subscription. Transportation will be taken care of by the hospital so 20% commission on transport charges. Using rental sales mode, the cost of ventilation for per patient is dropped by 80% as compared to current price in the Asia market.

Primary Goal: Receive grants from private and government organizations. 

Secondary Goal: Get SEED investment and capital donations 

Long term Goal: Revenue through sales and rental services 

Aerobiosys aims to create an huge impact in Asian Market with its innovative and affordable products. Apart from India, Bangladesh is one of the leading market for healthcare sector in Asia and support from organization like TIGER IT Foundation will enhance our speed to create impact. 

If we get selected the fund provided by TIGER IT Foundation will be very helpful to setting up our base in Bangladesh. 

We would like to partner with Private and govt. tertiary care hospitals and Biomedical Research institute for local Technical support.