The FELIX-1 negative pressure scavenger kit is a preassembled tool compatible with high velocity therapy, an advanced form of high flow nasal cannula increasingly used by clinicians in supporting the respiratory needs of COVID-19 patients
Patient treated with Vapotherm high velocity therapy while using the FELIX-1 negative pressure scavenger kit (Credit: Vapotherm, Inc./Business Wire.)
Vapotherm, a global medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of its proprietary high velocity therapy, which is used to treat patients of all ages suffering from respiratory distress, has announced the release of a low-cost, easy to use kit to help clinicians create a zone of relative negative pressure at the patient’s face which may mitigate the risk of transmission of potentially infectious particles while treating COVID-19 patients. All profits from the kits will be distributed to non-profit organizations supporting front-line clinicians fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
The FELIX-1 negative pressure scavenger kit is a preassembled tool compatible with high velocity therapy, an advanced form of high flow nasal cannula increasingly used by clinicians in supporting the respiratory needs of COVID-19 patients. The FELIX-1 design is replicable with off-the-shelf components, and is named for Felix Khusid, a respiratory therapy leader working in New York City who shared this previously implemented design with Vapotherm during the first wave of COVID-19.
“It’s important that clinicians are protected to the greatest extent possible while using the critical tools they need to support patients and their communities through this pandemic,” said Joe Army, CEO of Vapotherm, “When Felix presented us with his approach to potentially improve caregiver safety, we made it our mission to help get this tool into hospitals as quickly and broadly as possible.”
In computational fluid dynamics simulations performed by Vapotherm, the FELIX-1 negative pressure scavenger kit was capable of capturing up to 97% of particle mass when connected to an in-room vacuum system and used in conjunction with Vapotherm high velocity therapy.
Vapotherm will donate all profits from the sale of these kits to non-profit funds to support caregivers serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as those established by the American Association of Respiratory Care, Emergency Nurses Association, and the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Source: Company Press Release