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SodaStream, hospital invent respiratory device for Covid-19 patients

Sodastream respiratory device with Israel hospital

Sparkling water-maker brand SodaStream and medical facility Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Israel have joined forces on a new respiratory assistance project for Covid-19 patients.

The move addresses the increasing problems of a lack of respirators in hospitals and healthcare facilities to treat victims of the pandemic. The Israeli Ministry of Health approved the medical equipment and a clinical trial is ongoing in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU).

“It is a tremendous privilege for us to be able to use our technology and resources to provide relief to those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and to help save lives,” said Eyal Shohat Global CEO of SodaStream. 

The StreamO2 was created to help patients with mild to moderate respiratory distress as it provides them with the sufficient oxygen level required. SodaStream said in a statement that the new type of oxygen device could prevent aggravation and intubation as well as lessens the risks and complications associated with it.

Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital senior physician (ICU), Dr Akiva Nachshon, and SodaStream head of the Research and Development, Avi Cohen, created a special engineering team to lead the project to deal with the pandemic. 

“We realised that there was an acute shortage of non-invasive respiratory aids to treat Covid-19 patients, and after recognising there was a desire from the industry to help in dealing with this crisis, we tried to think outside the box,” said Dr Nachshon.

“The advantage of our development is the ability to replicate it in bulk for patients suffering from respiratory distress in Israel and around the world,” added Cohen.

The medical equipment creates an “oxygen-air mixture through the nose at high flow rates, high humidity and body temperature”. The air-oxygen mixture flows into the nose nose in combination with high humidity of over 80%. The humidity, temperature, and percentage of oxygen are monitored and gives both visual and audible indication to the medical staff if there are any abnormalities.

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