PLAN B: A Low Cost Alternative Method of Delivering Negative Pressure Wound Therapy

In my previous post, I talked about the importance of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) for wound healing.  I also talked about the indigenous use of common household or medical supplies to augment the lack of adequate materials to create a NWPT system. 

I call this PLAN B...


Plan b was developed as a solution to the exorbitant cost of available commercial NPWT systems. It brings together an affordable vacuum source and a dressing system utilizing common household and hospital items.

Using this low-cost dressing system, all a surgical unit needs is a rugged, reliable vacuum source. All the other materials for dressings and collection bottles can be obtained from indigenous sources. Unlike commercial NPWT systems, there is no need to purchase and maintain an inventory of current  dressing systems. The surgical unit will no longer be dependent on the availability and supply of dressing materials, which are sometimes ordered from abroad and at great cost.

Plan B calls for a NPWT system that uses common hospital and household items to create the airtight dressings and reservoir. These common items include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. IV bottles, Dopamine, & Mannitol bottles are easy to find in the hospital. Even PET bottles can be used as Fluid Collection Chambers

2. IV tubing, NGT, suction catheters are packaged in sterile containers & are ideal tubing

3. 3-4 layers of Clingwrap serve as occlusive drape to create an airtight seal

4. Surgical gauze or common upholstery foam (sterilized by steam)  serve as wound fillers

The Whole Set up would look like this:

The biggest problem in developing a low cost NPWT is finding a satisfactory vacuum source!

Other vacuum sources have been thus pressed into service by ingenious doctors. 

PROS

• Marginally portable

CONS

• Very noisy
• Overheats easily
• Watcher has to turn it on & off regularly

PROS

• Quiet operation
• 24/7 operation

CONS

• Not  available in all wards/hospitals
• No intermittent mode

Some have used wall suction ports in wards, others have used suction machines. But wall suction ports are far too few, and are not portable, and suction machines overheat easily. 

So this prompted a search for an alternative, low cost negative pressure wound therapy pump.