Growth Tracker Full Details

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Start
03/07/12
End
Growth Tracker
Impact Report
Critical Information Change
Milestone1 of 3
Milestone 1
Created: 03/07/12
Last Updated: 03/14/12
Funding
Goals
Secure private funding
Infection and disease transmission in clinics and hospitals afflict millions in the developing world. Sterile medical equipment can mean the difference between life and death. Healthcare associated infection rates in developing countries range from 15% to 40% or more. With the expansion of basic surgery,the problem grows as access to healthcare grows. Potentially lifesaving procedures tragically cripple or kill millions of men,women and children due to lack of affordable,effective sterilization of medical equipment. Safe, effective surgical interventions lower maternal/child mortality and morbidity. Individual health gains benefit the health of society: 1/3 of injury-related deaths in the developing world occur in the most economically productive segment of the population - working adults.


In resource-limited and remote environments nitrogen dioxide gas (NO2) sterilization provides the ability to truly sterilize instruments and equipment independent of access to water or electrical power and other fuel sources. The system is compatible with a much wider array of medical equipment than competing options such as autoclaves. The characteristics of the gas itself also provide considerable benefits: NO2 can penetrate packaging and complex devices, it does not leave residue, it is not explosive, and it sterilizes completely even at low concentrations. These traits allow for an affordable, effective, and adaptable sterilization system that requires very little training and can be easily deployed by disaster relief teams, military first responders and community health workers in rural clinics and urban hospitals.

A portable, table-top sterilization system consisting of a plastic bag or box equipped with a simple valve which will sterilize a wide range of medical equipment using ampules of nitrogen dioxide gas and a filter to deactivate the gas at the end of the cycle. The system will enable healthcare workers to safely sterilize vital supplies anywhere, at any time.

A tray of medical equipment is placed in the sterilization chamber and the valve is sealed. The user inserts an ampule of NO2 into a one-way valve and tightens it, breaking the seal and releasing the gas into the chamber. The cycle takes one hour and can be left unattended. At the end of the cycle, the user opens a second valve, exposing the chamber to a filter which deactivates the gas. Once the air from the chamber has been passed through the filter, the chamber is opened and the tray is removed, fully sterile. This cycle can be repeated as many times as necessary and multiple units can be used in parallel to increase throughput.

Please contact us with comments or suggestions

The sterilization challenge is best understood as an ever-expanding effort to provide low-cost infection prevention and safe, high quality healthcare in any setting. Affordable and effective sterilization of medical instruments and devices addresses three interrelated challenges in global health: 1) Healthcare associated infections (HCAI) 2) Expanding basic surgical care 3) Preventing disease transmission: HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other diseases However, resource-limited settings with poor access to reliable electricity and/or clean water inhibit community health workers from effectively sterilizing medical instruments. Eniware's proven technology and cost-effective sterilization will close that gap. For example, WHO estimates that 50 - 100,000 women annually develop obstetrical fistulas, and more than 2M women worldwide live with this devastating condition caused by tissue death during obstructed labor. Low-cost, reliable Eniware sterilization would enable trained birth attendants and community health workers to safely prevent fistula through caesarian section, as well as repair existing fistulas, without fear of contracting life-threatening infection. The ability to efficiently and effectively sterilize medical instruments and thereby expand access to safe, basic surgery is key to restoring these hundreds of thousands of injured women to health and productivity in their families and communities.
Growth Tracker
Impact Report
Critical Information Change
Milestone2 of 3
Milestone 2
Created: 03/07/12
Last Updated: 03/14/12
Academic Partnership
Goals
Identify Potential Academic Partners
Narrow the field
Connect with potential partners
Finalize partnership
Infection and disease transmission in clinics and hospitals afflict millions in the developing world. Sterile medical equipment can mean the difference between life and death. Healthcare associated infection rates in developing countries range from 15% to 40% or more. With the expansion of basic surgery,the problem grows as access to healthcare grows. Potentially lifesaving procedures tragically cripple or kill millions of men,women and children due to lack of affordable,effective sterilization of medical equipment. Safe, effective surgical interventions lower maternal/child mortality and morbidity. Individual health gains benefit the health of society: 1/3 of injury-related deaths in the developing world occur in the most economically productive segment of the population - working adults.


In resource-limited and remote environments nitrogen dioxide gas (NO2) sterilization provides the ability to truly sterilize instruments and equipment independent of access to water or electrical power and other fuel sources. The system is compatible with a much wider array of medical equipment than competing options such as autoclaves. The characteristics of the gas itself also provide considerable benefits: NO2 can penetrate packaging and complex devices, it does not leave residue, it is not explosive, and it sterilizes completely even at low concentrations. These traits allow for an affordable, effective, and adaptable sterilization system that requires very little training and can be easily deployed by disaster relief teams, military first responders and community health workers in rural clinics and urban hospitals.

A portable, table-top sterilization system consisting of a plastic bag or box equipped with a simple valve which will sterilize a wide range of medical equipment using ampules of nitrogen dioxide gas and a filter to deactivate the gas at the end of the cycle. The system will enable healthcare workers to safely sterilize vital supplies anywhere, at any time.

A tray of medical equipment is placed in the sterilization chamber and the valve is sealed. The user inserts an ampule of NO2 into a one-way valve and tightens it, breaking the seal and releasing the gas into the chamber. The cycle takes one hour and can be left unattended. At the end of the cycle, the user opens a second valve, exposing the chamber to a filter which deactivates the gas. Once the air from the chamber has been passed through the filter, the chamber is opened and the tray is removed, fully sterile. This cycle can be repeated as many times as necessary and multiple units can be used in parallel to increase throughput.

Please contact us with comments or suggestions

The sterilization challenge is best understood as an ever-expanding effort to provide low-cost infection prevention and safe, high quality healthcare in any setting. Affordable and effective sterilization of medical instruments and devices addresses three interrelated challenges in global health: 1) Healthcare associated infections (HCAI) 2) Expanding basic surgical care 3) Preventing disease transmission: HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other diseases However, resource-limited settings with poor access to reliable electricity and/or clean water inhibit community health workers from effectively sterilizing medical instruments. Eniware's proven technology and cost-effective sterilization will close that gap. For example, WHO estimates that 50 - 100,000 women annually develop obstetrical fistulas, and more than 2M women worldwide live with this devastating condition caused by tissue death during obstructed labor. Low-cost, reliable Eniware sterilization would enable trained birth attendants and community health workers to safely prevent fistula through caesarian section, as well as repair existing fistulas, without fear of contracting life-threatening infection. The ability to efficiently and effectively sterilize medical instruments and thereby expand access to safe, basic surgery is key to restoring these hundreds of thousands of injured women to health and productivity in their families and communities.
Growth Tracker
Impact Report
Critical Information Change
Milestone3 of 3
Milestone 3
Created: 03/07/12
Last Updated: 03/14/12
Usage Study
Goals
Infection and disease transmission in clinics and hospitals afflict millions in the developing world. Sterile medical equipment can mean the difference between life and death. Healthcare associated infection rates in developing countries range from 15% to 40% or more. With the expansion of basic surgery,the problem grows as access to healthcare grows. Potentially lifesaving procedures tragically cripple or kill millions of men,women and children due to lack of affordable,effective sterilization of medical equipment. Safe, effective surgical interventions lower maternal/child mortality and morbidity. Individual health gains benefit the health of society: 1/3 of injury-related deaths in the developing world occur in the most economically productive segment of the population - working adults.


In resource-limited and remote environments nitrogen dioxide gas (NO2) sterilization provides the ability to truly sterilize instruments and equipment independent of access to water or electrical power and other fuel sources. The system is compatible with a much wider array of medical equipment than competing options such as autoclaves. The characteristics of the gas itself also provide considerable benefits: NO2 can penetrate packaging and complex devices, it does not leave residue, it is not explosive, and it sterilizes completely even at low concentrations. These traits allow for an affordable, effective, and adaptable sterilization system that requires very little training and can be easily deployed by disaster relief teams, military first responders and community health workers in rural clinics and urban hospitals.

A portable, table-top sterilization system consisting of a plastic bag or box equipped with a simple valve which will sterilize a wide range of medical equipment using ampules of nitrogen dioxide gas and a filter to deactivate the gas at the end of the cycle. The system will enable healthcare workers to safely sterilize vital supplies anywhere, at any time.

A tray of medical equipment is placed in the sterilization chamber and the valve is sealed. The user inserts an ampule of NO2 into a one-way valve and tightens it, breaking the seal and releasing the gas into the chamber. The cycle takes one hour and can be left unattended. At the end of the cycle, the user opens a second valve, exposing the chamber to a filter which deactivates the gas. Once the air from the chamber has been passed through the filter, the chamber is opened and the tray is removed, fully sterile. This cycle can be repeated as many times as necessary and multiple units can be used in parallel to increase throughput.

Please contact us with comments or suggestions

The sterilization challenge is best understood as an ever-expanding effort to provide low-cost infection prevention and safe, high quality healthcare in any setting. Affordable and effective sterilization of medical instruments and devices addresses three interrelated challenges in global health: 1) Healthcare associated infections (HCAI) 2) Expanding basic surgical care 3) Preventing disease transmission: HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other diseases However, resource-limited settings with poor access to reliable electricity and/or clean water inhibit community health workers from effectively sterilizing medical instruments. Eniware's proven technology and cost-effective sterilization will close that gap. For example, WHO estimates that 50 - 100,000 women annually develop obstetrical fistulas, and more than 2M women worldwide live with this devastating condition caused by tissue death during obstructed labor. Low-cost, reliable Eniware sterilization would enable trained birth attendants and community health workers to safely prevent fistula through caesarian section, as well as repair existing fistulas, without fear of contracting life-threatening infection. The ability to efficiently and effectively sterilize medical instruments and thereby expand access to safe, basic surgery is key to restoring these hundreds of thousands of injured women to health and productivity in their families and communities.