Launched more than four years ago as an undergraduate engineering project, M4 Stephen John’s NeoVent dual-pressure ventilator is increasingly garnering attention. The most recent showcase for the invention came in April during the MSF Pediatric Days conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Global REACH provided a Conference Grant to help John attend the conference, where he presented a poster about the performance of his invention compared to more expensive ventilator devices.
“I also brought a NeoVent and had it running. We filled up four sheets of contact information from people who were in interested in updates about when the devices might be available,” John said.
John’s NeoVent is a low-tech attachment that converts single-pressure bubble CPAP into a dual-pressure ventilator, a potentially life-saving device for infants with respiratory issues in the first few weeks of life. His device doesn’t use electricity, and bubble CPAP are likewise inexpensive and can run on compressed air, making them an attractive option for many low-resource settings like those where Doctors Without Borders is active.
“The conference has a very specific audience because every attendee is a clinician actively working to improve child health in a low-resource setting. They are attuned the issues with newborns in these settings, and they want simple, low-cost, effective solutions,” John said. “The level of interest was so much higher than other conference we’ve been to.”
NeoVent is currently being studied in Nepal, and John has partnered with the William Davidson Institute at the Ross Business School to conduct some formal market analysis, visiting hospitals in places like India and Africa where such a device could have the most impact. He is also talking with potential manufacturers. A final cost for NeoVent could run a few hundred dollars, according to John, much cheaper than traditional dual-pressure ventilators which carry a price tag of thousands – or even tens of thousands – of dollars.
“There’s been a lot of amazing learning with this project. Conducting clinical research, regulatory documentation, design engineering, market analysis – the learning has been amazing,” John said. “But I want to see this get to market. These babies are suffering now. The ultimate milestone will be when we can get this to any doctor who wants to use it.”
After taking much of the last year off from medical school to focus on NeoVent, John is now back to being full-time student and is in the midst of final-year clinical rotations at Michigan Medicine. Next month he begins his stint in the Michigan Medicine NICU.
“I’m really looking forward to that,” he said. “Seeing our NICU after experiencing all of these other places will be very instructive.”