The Airway Medical Suction Unit (WAMSU™) is a wall-mounted suction unit; developed to TRL 3, as part of the government’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Call; via a Crowdfunder, to provide the NHS with a back-up suction device at every high dependency bed.
The incumbent Electric/Battery technology is a portable device, typically plugged into an electric outlet ‘somewhere’ on the ward. The unit is taken to the patient bedside and utilises the fully charged battery to provide suction. It is unusual to have more than a couple of such units available and so creates issues if demand for back-up suction is higher. They are also prone to failure due to a number of issues, such as not being charged due to disconnection from the electric outlet.
WAMSU™ utilises an existing medical air gas outlet for suction generation, situated behind all ‘high dependency’ patient beds. It sits next to the primary source of vacuum as back up and looks and operates in exactly the same way. If the primary source fails, the clinician can connect WAMSU in seconds to provide an instant back-up.
WAMSU has significant potential in temporary ‘field’ hospitals, due to relying on compressed air, rather than a technically more difficult vacuum pipeline.
Presentation of how the device works :