BIMOD®
BIMOD® is designed to improve gas exchange in the lungs of spontaneously breathing patients.
Using two of Camcon’s unique BAT valves, BIMOD® simultaneously delivers precise doses of oxygen (O2) and nitric oxide (NO) at the beginning of each breath to normal functioning regions of the lungs, enabling better oxygenation and gas exchange without increasing intrathoracic pressure in critically sick patients.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRECISION DELIVERY IN ACUTE AND CHRONIC LUNG DISEASES
Mechanical Assisted Ventilation (MAV) and Continuous Positive Pressure Ventilation (CPAP) are commonly used respiratory interventions; however new reports1 indicate high levels of treatment-related adverse events, in particular for patients in critical care treated with Invasive Mechanical Ventilation (IMV) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These insights highlight that optimisation of gas exchange (O2 and CO2) requires balanced ventilation and perfusion of the lungs, in order to effectively support patients with respiratory failure.
Camcon is certain that a precision oxygen delivery device used in spontaneously breathing patients can delay or avoid IMV and reduce risk of the complications caused by respiratory interventions currently used.
BIMOD® is first-of-its-kind that allows precision delivery of oxygen and nitric oxide. It does so by making use of the patient’s own breathing. The pulses of oxygen and nitric oxide are both delivered at the same time at the beginning of each inhaled breath and at a similar flow rate as the patients’ inspiratory flow. This allows the gases to be entrained in the first part of the breath which is carried only to the best ventilated parts of the lung. Here the nitric oxide selectively increases blood flow which in turn enhances the uptake of oxygen. The BIMOD optimises the gas exchange even in patients with severely damaged lungs2.
The key is to optimise gas exchange in the remaining regions of the normal lung using the patient’s own breathing efforts and not increasing intra-thoracic pressure. Gas exchange occurs best when ventilation and perfusion are “well matched”. BIMOD® achieves this through precision dosing, timing and matching the patients’ own inspiratory flow rate.
A prototype is currently in development and it will be tested, put through clinical trials and refined for mass production in time to help patients suffering from the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
KEY FEATURES AND CLINICAL BENEFITS
BIMOD® is built with two valves using Binary Actuation Technology (BAT) technology – one for oxygen and one for nitric oxide – characterised by an extremely fast and silent action, that open and closes a high flow valve in 6 milliseconds. The valves provide clinicians with the ability to select precise doses of each gas, creating highly personalised delivery.
BIMOD® features a highly sensitive breath detection system, including an adaptive decision taking algorithm, to allow for the accurate selection of a wide range of delivered pulsed volumes of gases.
BIMOD® delivers the two gases (oxygen and nitric oxide) by means of nasal cannulae or face masks triggered by detection of the beginning of each inhaled breath – a critical timing to enable the gasses to reach the best ventilated regions of the lungs first at a similar flow rate as the patient’s inspiratory flow. This allows the lungs to expand and, thanks to the vasodilation caused by the nitric oxide, to further increase the blood flow, optimising gas exchange and enhancing oxygen uptake.
The BIMOD® prototype is a small, portable device for ambulatory as well as hospitalised patients.
Read more about the key features and clinical benefits of BiMOD® here
POTENTIAL PUBLIC HEALTH BENEFITS
BIMOD® has the potential to revolutionise the therapeutic delivery of medical gases for all forms of respiratory failure in spontaneously breathing patients by:
- Delaying or avoiding NIMV or IMV, which force oxygen into the lungs, raising the internal pressure, and potentially rupturing the delicate structures of the lungs that provide the gas exchange surfaces.
- Enabling earlier recovery in patients, by improving ventilation and perfusion inequalities, leading to an early return to normoxia and avoiding long-term complications commonly associated with traditional respiratory interventions.
- Substantially reducing the length of stay in CCUs for respiratory failure patients and simplifying oxygen support so that patients will not need as much attendant care.
- Cutting oxygen waste, more than 60% of oxygen could be saved providing substantial cost savings for the hospital and home care, thanks to the precise delivery of volumes of gasses.
- Producing significant reduction on costs of care as the BIMOD® device can be managed once set up, by the patients who have used the prototypes at home2