Open-source medical devices for low- and middle-income countries
NEWS
April, 2026
NeoFlow project started: An observational study with two open-source low-cost pediatric CPAP devices has been started in the Namwala District Hospital (Zambia). The study will be carried out during the next two years with 70 newborns. This is an Insitut Català de la Salut initiative (Ethical Board permission PI-25-104) with the collaboration of the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital (Dr. Lluís Valerio), Namwala District Hospital (Dr. Daniel Kabamba) and the University of Barcelona (Prof. Ramón Farré, Dr. Jorge Otero).
September, 2025
A Pro-Con debate on the availability of medical devices in low- and middle-income countries was held during the annual congress of the European Respiratory Society. The aim was to discuss the current perspective of the problem and explain the challenges and potential solutions.
October, 2023
Four CPAP devices for treating infants with respiratory failure, built as a 3D-printed assembly, have been provided to the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul (Gambia). This is a charity-funded collaboration initiative of a team of pediatricians, nurses and biomedical engineers from Hospital Clinic, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu and the University of Barcelona (Spain).
September, 2023
Bubble CPAP devices for infants are being developed in Maxixe (Mozambique) by Prof. Gorka Solana’s team at Faculdade de Engenharias e Tecnologias, Universidade Save.
