Breathing for babies: revolutionizing care for acute respiratory distress

Acute respiratory distress is a common cause of death among the one million preterm babies worldwide who die every year.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a proven effective therapy to reduce these deaths, but it is not available to the overwhelming majority of the worlds children, particularly in low-resource settings.

Less than one percent of neonatal intensive care units surveyed across Africa reported being able to meet the oxygen blending (the combination of pure oxygen with air to regulate the concentration of oxygen delivered) needs of all their newborns.

To increase the availability of CPAP where its needed most, Boston-based Vayu Global Health Innovations developed the Breathing for Babies packageincluding an innovative oxygen blender and a bubble CPAPthat do not require electricity or advanced bioengineering support, and that are available at one-third to one-half the cost of available alternatives.

These Vayu devices have regulatory approval in Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Brazil and emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

To expand access to and scale Breathing for Babies, Vayu aims to generate awareness and demand through partnerships and demonstration programs.

With support from Development Innovation Ventures, Vayu will conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness of the Breathing for Babies in different clinical settings, analyze its cost-effectiveness, implement demonstration programs in Ghana and Tanzania in close coordination with key stakeholders, and apply for additional country and global regulatory approvals.

Given the current worldwide attention on the benefits of neonatal CPAP treatment, this evidence may help Vayu overcome regulatory hurdles and enable implementation through governments and international organizations.