Innovative Medical Technology Design

Airway Medical Ltd produces novel Suction & Oxygen Therapy equipment for clearing blocked airways in emergency and chronic conditions. We are recognised by MediLink South West 2020 as an outstanding early stage innovation company and the Airway Medical Suction Unit (AMSU™) is currently international patent pending.

AMSU™ – Portable Suction Unit

Airway Medical Suction Unit (AMSU™) aka. ‘Breathe’ is a portable suction device for clearing blocked airways in emergency and chronic conditions. It looks like a sports bottle. It has the potential to make current electric/battery technology (picture below) obsolete.

AMSU™ has numerous benefits over current back-up suction systems: 

  • No batteries or electric required.
  • 90% cheaper
  • 95% smaller
  • 95% lighter
  • Easier to use
  • No ongoing maintenance issues
  • Waterproof

AMSU™ meets international standards for laryngeal high, low and thoracic suction.

AMSU™ can be adapted for specific scenarios and is also adjustable from 0 to 25 L per minute flow at 0 to -60 KPa vacuum.

Watch a video of Simon explaining how the device works.

AMSU™ – Potential Applications

AMSU™ has multiple applications within the medical and industrial markets:

  • Daily hospital use. AMSU™ can provide emergency suction to clear blocked airways, enhance survival rates for tracheostomy patients or give respite for chronic conditions such a Cystic Fibrosis, Brain Injury and Dementia, amongst other medical scenarios.
  • Veterinary
  • Paramedic and First Responders (i.e defibrillator boxes).
  • Other Emergency Services such as Coastguards, Air Ambulance and RNLI.
  • MOD Battlefield Medics
  • Domiciliary
  • Industrial applications would include any situation whereby a fluid needs to be removed from an awkward location, for example: deep sea oil rigs, chemical spillages in laboratories, hazardous spillages in industry.

CAMSU™ – Wall Mounted Suction Unit

The COVID-19 Airway Medical Suction Unit (CAMSU™) is a wall-mounted suction unit developed as part of the government’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Call.

CAMSU™ utilises the medical air gas outlet for suction generation. It sits next to the primary source of vacuum as back up and operates in exactly the same way to the clinician, connecting into the primary collection circuit. 

Watch a video of Simon explaining how the device works.

" We imagine a world where no-one dies due to lack of access to effective airway suction. "

 

Founder Simon Hall and the team at AML firmly believe in being an environmentally and socially responsible company; with a focus on people before profit in all our endeavours. We have ‘walked the walk’ from day one. Our current project, the AMSU™ (Airway Medical Suction Unit) is made from renewable, ethically sourced bio-polymers, manufactured from Castor Oil Bean without the additional cost being passed onto the customer. All other components are produced from materials with the lowest possible environmental impact and carbon footprint.

The AMSU™ is a completely new and innovative approach to airway suction and is aimed primarily at developing countries where there is an unmet need for a low cost, light weight, and easy-to-learn-and-use device. It is manufactured from a bio-polymer, is biodegradable and intrinsically anti-viral, yet compliant with all current ISO international standards. It can be used for emergency and chronic condition airway suction. We are innovating by simplification. Current effective airway suction devices are ‘western-centric’, complex and require sophisticated infrastructure to maintain them.

Normally innovation results in higher cost, increased complexity, shorter product life cycles, increased environmental impact and as a consequence reduced sustainability. These ‘innovations’ increase inequality; particularly between rich and poor countries and between those with higher, adaptable skills and those with fewer skills. The AMSU™ is both innovative and sustainable. It reduces inequality, whilst improving healthcare outcomes for people that until now have not had access to effective airway suction. The AMSU™ is particularly suited for use in developing countries, as it is intuitive to use, and does not require an electricity supply or harmful lithium batteries. We coat the device with activated anti-viral Graphene, derived from waste methane. It is intrinsically anti-viral (inc. Cov-19) and so does not require alcohol-based decontamination; a particular issue in Muslim communities.

The AMSU™ is the size of a sports bottle,  is one fifth of the cost of current solutions and is suitable for final assembly in the country of use. AML source medical grade, biodegradable, high performance bio-polymers from ethically produced, plant-based castor oil bean; using output from the socially and environmentally responsible Pragati Initiative in Gujurat, India. Using cutting edge additive manufacturing and innovation by simplification, we dramatically reduce the amount of energy and manufacturing resources compared to current technology. AML are further developing the range of patented, novel, emergency airway suction devices based on the same technology and principles as the AMSU™.

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