Inviting Expressions of Interest: Open call to solve the problem of low cost power protection for oxygen concentrators reliant on highly variable grids

The Oxygen CoLab is launching a £45,000 prize to create a low-cost power protection prototype for oxygen concentrators, which are a critical supply of oxygen in low-and middle income countries (LMICs), especially during COVID-19.

COVID-19 has turned the world’s attention to oxygen inequities, especially in the world’s most under-served communities. How do we close the oxygen inequality gap to prevent the 800,000 lives per year lost of under 5yrs globally? The Oxygen CoLab is working to catalyse innovation and create a healthy market for fit-for-purpose oxygen concentrators that provide access to reliable, quality oxygen in low resource settings (LRS).

This project is part of COVIDaction, as funded by UK Aid, which has a broader goal to create a pipeline of technologies in low and middle income countries (LMICs) in response to the pandemic. The Oxygen CoLab has partnered with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s supply division to inform a target product profile, which seeks to catalyse innovation on new fit for purpose oxygen concentrator products.

While the world awaits new vaccines and medicines that can prevent and treat COVID-19, countries are relying on oxygen therapy to keep people alive. There are a range of solutions for medical oxygen, but at the centre of the oxygen gap, next to the need for oxygen cylinders in developing countries, are oxygen concentrators. These devices have a solid track record of saving lives in developing countries, but there is growing recognition that innovation on key elements of the oxygen concentrator and its ecosystem could help spark much greater access, use and impact.

COVID has further exacerbated the need for fit-for-purpose products which perform well in challenging ecosystems. There is significant donor interest in the oxygen ecosystem, illustrated by UNICEFs purchase of 27,000 oxygen concentrator units deployed in 96 countries since the beginning of the pandemic. However, due to the challenging conditions in LMICs many of these devices may fail within the first 12 months. It is vital that these medical devices are protected and maintained to ensure the continued and dependable delivery of life saving oxygen.

A major issue is the damage to medical equipment including oxygen concentrators due to issues with electrical supply to power the device. We have chosen to focus on finding a low cost solution to this problem as there is significant evidence regarding the damage done.

This Open Call aims to solve the persistent issue of poor power quality and supply in LRS. This problem has been prioritised due to the significant contribution oxygen concentrators make to growing equipment graveyards at numerous hospitals.

The power problem

In order to act as a suitable replacement for oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators need to provide medical grade oxygen 24hrs a day, 7 days a week so a stable power supply is needed. The electrical requirements of oxygen concentrators most frequently used in low resource settings is a constant 230VAC at 50 Hz. Power systems are inherently dynamic entities that are expected to fluctuate during normal operation. However, in LMICs fluctuations can be greater magnitude and for greater durations than the thresholds electrical equipment can handle. In fact, poor quality mains power supply is known to be one of the primary causes of medical equipment failure, especially oxygen concentrators.

What is the problem with poor voltage quality?

Poor voltage quality is characterised by drops, sags, fluctuations, flickers and spikes. Electric utilities set an allowable range (commonly ±5% of the nominal range) for voltage fluctuations, however, in LMICs the fluctuations are much greater than this, especially immediately following the power coming back on after a blackout. These larger deviations damage vital components of oxygen concentrators which are not designed to manage this:

• Oxygen concentrator compressor motors can overheat and their lifespan is shortened by voltage fluctuations.
• Electronic circuit boards and other components are damaged by the heat generated by the arc of electrical current caused in power surges (a sudden increase in voltage). This can be instantaneous, causing permanent damage but smaller surges cause unseen incremental damage.

This is not the only problem, repeated losses in power and drops in voltage are also common in LMICs:

• Brownouts describe a reduction in voltage levels to certain regions, caused by an increased demand or reduced capacity to supply power. They are frequent and can last a few minutes or up to several hours.
• Blackouts describe large-scale interruption where the electrical service stops completely. These are often unannounced, and could be caused by grid issues such as transformer malfunctions, or might be scheduled to reduce strain on the grid.
• Power outages describe smaller interruption and can be caused by transformer malfunctions.

Power protection and stabilisation are vital components of oxygen concentrators used in LRS

As a result of the issues of loss of power, drops in voltage and poor power quality, oxygen concentrators can not be relied upon to provide a continuous flow of oxygen without power backup such as generators or oxygen storage. As a result clinicians are less likely to value oxygen concentrators above more costly oxygen cylinders, incremental damage is not repaired due to a lack of biomedical engineers and over time the devices become unusable. This is why so many of these life saving devices end up in equipment graveyards within hospitals.

Click here for more information around the why, what and how of power protection for oxygen concentrators

Do you think you can solve this tricky problem?

For this prize we are seeking a prototype of a power stabilizer that can deliver a continuous nominal power of 230VAC at 50 Hz and for a unit cost of under US$100. Each prototype will be judged on how it is able to deal with Power Stabilisation, Voltage Sags, Voltage Spikes, Power Surges and Frequency Fluctuations as one unit that will protect an oxygen concentrator so it can deliver continuous oxygen.

Using expert judges to evaluate the prototypes, each participant will submit data logs and verification data to allow for a fair and equitable judging process to be carried out remotely.

Final independent verification of the best products will be carried out separately before the prize is awarded. Find further information about this challenge here.

The open call process

Stage 1. Submit your ‘Low Cost Power Protection Prize Expression of Interest’ here by 11.59 BST on 1st August 2021

Stage 2. Submit evidence of your validated and tested prototype by 11.59 GMT on 28th January 2022

Stage 3. The top two scored submissions are shipped to the UK for final validation testing in a laboratory environment in February 2022

Stage 4. Award of £45,000 prize to the prototype which meets the test criteria at the lowest cost February 2022

Can you solve this problem? Submit your expression of interest HERE!

Watch this space for more information, and if you are on Twitter, follow @COVIDactionTech for updates. For more information about the Oxygen CoLab look no further!

Are you interested in the role of fit for purpose oxygen concentrators in reducing oxygen inequalities? Or do you have questions about this open call? Email us we want to hear from you!