Pumani bubble CPAP

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The Pumani bubble CPAP is a rugged, long-lived machine that works in places as diverse as Malawi, Haiti and DRC. In fact, the device is in use in over 35 countries and counting.  Some of the original machines are still successfully in use a decade later.   

A bubble CPAP is used to treat infants with respiratory distress syndrome.  A recent study found over 1600 peer-reviewed studies on bubble CPAPs as a therapy for respiratory distress syndrome in children 1 to 59 months.  This study notes which contexts in which bubble CPAP is most appropriate including the following:

• the physical presence of a bCPAP-trained medical doctor is ideal for patient safety
• reliable power and oxygen supply should be present
• longitudinal involvement of leaders with local influence (response), leads to improved equity and sustainability (outcome)
• Comprehensive, contextualised, ongoing, and hands-on clinical and technical staff bCPAP training followed by display of competency in real-world scenarios (resource) facilitates retention of knowledge and skills and emergence of local champions 

The Pumani bubble CPAP was engineered by a team at Rice University in Texas, working in collaboration with clinicians in Malawi.  A range of specific design considerations made the Pumani especially appropriate for low-resource settings so that the machine is easy to use and parts are easy to replace using local biomedical engineers.   The Pumani bubble CPAP arrives with some spare parts already included inside the machine itself. 

Simple videos by Picturing Health make the introduction and set-up of the Pumani bubble CPAP approachable and intuitive.