2024 Global Health Equity Challenge
SAANS
Advanced infrastructure-independent neonatal respiratory support system which universalizes access to non-invasive breathing support for the neonatal and pediatrics.
What is the name of your solution?
SAANS
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.
Portable infrastructure-independent neonatal CPAP system which universalizes access to non-invasive breathing support for the neonatal and pediatrics
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Bengaluru, Karnataka, IndiaIn what country is your solution team headquartered?
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
More than 1 million babies die every year, less than 28 days after birth, due to a lack of breathing support. According to WHO, preterm birth, intrapartum-related complications (birth asphyxia or inability to breathe, birth injuries), infections and birth defects are the leading causes of neonatal mortality globally. Correspondingly, the major causes of neonatal deaths in India are birth asphyxia/birth injury (43%), low birth weight/prematurity (20%), neonatal Infection (20%), congenital anomaly (13%) and hypothermia (4%).
Prematurity, infection, and birth asphyxia, which are collectively responsible for > 80% of neonatal deaths result in respiratory distress, leading to respiratory compromise and failure within 48 to 72 hours if not managed. Thus, effective treatment of asphyxia and respiratory distress, at the point of birth, has the potential to drastically reduce neonatal and infant mortality. However, unlike the West, the majority of Indian babies do not have access to effective treatment (such as CPAP or resuscitation therapy) at the point of birth.
Most of these deaths happen in low-resource settings, characterized by a lack of electricity, compressed gas and oxygen sources, and a lack of trained nurses and doctors, further limiting the adoption of these technologies in low-resource settings.
What is your solution?
Saans is a low-skill, infrastructure-independent device that provides multiple non-invasive therapies (bCPAP, nCPAP, HFNC, and resuscitation) through a single device, thereby reducing the cost for the hospital and increasing the overall utilization of the devices.
Saans can offer multiple therapies through a single device (bCPAP, nCPAP, HFNC, resuscitation) for the neonatal and pediatric population. Saans has the following propositions to offer:
1. Can provide multiple therapy through one device.
2. In-built air-O2 blender and compressor with a battery backup of up to 6 hours. This also allows Saans to be a portable device that can be used in transportation, especially when transporting babies from primary to tertiary centres.
3. Lightweight and easy to with a wide 8” display (single knob button control). Digital and dynamic display and monitoring of key parameters (Flow, FiO2, and Pressure)
4. Suitable for low-resource setting
5. Compatible with standard humidifiers and patient interfaces.
These unique features make it effective even in settings without the infrastructure requirement. These features reduce caregiver dependency and infrastructure-related challenges in low-resource settings.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solutions are technology driven and our goal is to reduce healthcare inequality by improving access to the gold standard care where people in low-constrained settings can have access to the same care as anyone in high-resource settings and higher socio-economic status. Our solution is targeting more newborns and mothers which ensures a healthy society without any kind of discrimination (gender, race, social status and caste).
Most babies in India are born in secondary care or primary care settings, without NICUs and the relevant infrastructure and staff. Thus most babies have to be transported, with inadequate support, to far-off tertiary care centres to receive this therapy, which results in sub-optimal care and high mortality.
In addition, through our on ground experience, we have identified several secondary challenges that hinder the effectiveness of interventions in resource- constrained settings:
Lack of monitoring equipment: Monitoring SpO2 levels is essential during CPAP therapy to ensure adequate oxygenation. However, low resource settings may have limited access to reliable pulse oximeters or other monitoring equipment.
Inconsistent or unreliable data collection: Even if monitoring equipment is available, challenges may arise in consistent data collection. Healthcare facilities in low resource settings may lack standardized protocols or guidelines for recording and documenting SpO2 levels during CPAP therapy. This can result in inconsistent or incomplete data, making it difficult to assess the effectiveness of treatment, adjust CPAP settings appropriately, or make timely interventions.
Limited human capacity for data analysis and interpretation: Inadequate resources, including a shortage of trained personnel or limited access to relevant expertise, can hinder the analysis and interpretation of SpO2 data. This scarcity of specialist monitoring for critical treatments leads to delays in making intervention and referral decisions.
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
Before designing the solution, our team spent 6 months in public health facilities of various kinds such as PHCs, CHC and DH to understand the challenges faced by the local public healthcare system in delivering care that includes clinical as well as non-clinical problems.
The efficacy of the Saans device has been proven through numerous clinical trials, as well as in pilot deployments, listed below:
307-unit deployment across 40+ hospitals in the State of Assam in partnership with C-CAMP, USAID and BMGF. Treating 100-150 babies a week currently, with up to 74% successful discharge after treatment with Saans.
A pilot in Jharkhand (at multiple locations) - saw a reduction of 16% in NMR with initial data after treating 200 babies.
Pilot in Ethiopia at Hallelujah General Hospital supported by World Bank - 83% of treated babies discharged without mechanical ventilation.
70%-75% successful discharge after treatment with Saans.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Increase access to and quality of health services for medically underserved groups around the world (such as refugees and other displaced people, women and children, older adults, and LGBTQ+ individuals).Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?
What is your solution’s stage of development?
ScaleWhy are you applying to Solve?
We are currently operating in the Indian ecosystem and we are looking for opportunities to expand globally- explore emerging markets and potentially expanding to developed markets. We are seeking guidance and networking opportunities to expand our reach globally.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Nitesh Jangir
What makes your solution innovative?
Saans device expands access to non-invasive breathing support in lower-level hospitals and low-resource settings, where traditional devices cannot be used. It replaces multiple product categories, including Bubble CPAP, HFNC, and Resuscitators, all of which have a large number of manufacturers competing. The application of these devices is limited to higher-level hospitals with the requisite infrastructure and skilled staff. Saans enable breathing support with much more basic requirements.
Describe in simple terms how and why you expect your solution to have an impact on the problem.
InnAccel’s Saans is a novel neonatal breathing support solution designed for Indian and other emerging economies. The company recently won a 2-year Rate Contract with the Rajasthan Government to supply this product across all PICUs and NICUs in the State, with an initial order of 600 units. This
order builds upon the project executed in Assam through USAID-SAMRIDH.
This large-scale deployment of Saans in the state of Rajasthan would enable effective care and thus help achieve the SDG targets of NMR in the state. Similar to the impact in Assam, we expect Saans to help increase access to care due to its ease of use and ability to work with whatever infrastructure is available at a site level.
InnAccel is seeking working capital support to fund the manufacturing, commercial, and support team required to execute the project. Given the deployment in Government Hospitals in all Districts of the State, the vast majority of beneficiaries would be from the low-income population.
This device will also enable support to nursing staff and healthcare professionals in solving the problem of limited capacity in low-resource settings.
What are your impact goals for your solution and how are you measuring your progress towards them?
Impact Goals
1. This deployment would enable treatment for ~30K neonates/ year that need respiratory support and would have otherwise died, or suffered significant morbidity due to sub-optimal, and delayed, care in the state of Rajasthan.
2. 75% of these babies are expected to be successfully treated and discharged due to this intervention, and a significant reduction in out-referral rates is expected.
Indicators:
STAGE I (Months 1-3):
Demand assessment and development of an implementation and monitoring plan, in partnership with the State Health Mission authorities and the public health partners.
Manufacturing of units and procurement of accessories and consumables
Hiring and training of on-ground teams for product installation, periodic training, and service support to drive complete, and sustained utilisation of the devices (which will be monitored by the team). A team will also be trained and deployed for independent monitoring, data collection and analysis, and evaluation of key outcomes (such as number of babies treated, success of therapy, reduction in neonatal mortality etc).
Development of data collection methodology in partnership with Govt stakeholders
STAGE II (Months 4 to 6-9 depending on the size of the state)
Installation of devices and training of the hospital staff.
Setting-up telemedicine remote management platform in hospitals and nodal centres
Setup of data collection processes and protocols
STAGE III Months 5-12:
Data collection and analysis
- Assessment of relevant outcomes (no of babies treated, the success rate of therapy, neonatal mortality rate- overall and from respiratory failure)
- Economic analysis to estimate the cost per incremental life saved (estimated at below Rs.6000)
- Generate a comprehensive Impact Assessment report for the donors, and public health systems, and publish it in a global public health journal
- Continue supporting system usage, capacity building and consumables.
- Continue M&E for the deployments,
- Work with the public health system to set-up a supply chain for the consumables.
- Generate final impact, effectiveness and sustainability report.
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
Novel neonatal breathing support system with multiple therapy options, battery backup and turbine, in-built air compressor with oxygen blending capability, and digital LED display to set parameters and monitor key parameters delivered to the patient. The device has an intelligent parameter control, with auto-calibration to ensure optimum treatment. These features make the device ideal to be used in resource-constrained settings.
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new application of an existing technology
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
If your solution has a website or an app, provide the links here:
https://innaccel.com/products/saans/
In which countries do you currently operate?
Which, if any, additional countries will you be operating in within the next year?
How many people work on your solution team?
43-member team with accomplished leadership
How long have you been working on your solution?
5 years
Tell us about how you ensure that your team is diverse, minimizes barriers to opportunity for staff, and provides a welcoming and inclusive environment for all team members.
We have a 40-member interdisciplinary team with accomplished leadership and seasoned team including investment bankers, data engineers, biomedical engineers, product designers, marketing and sales specialists, and healthcare providers.
What is your business model?
We have a two-fold GTM strategy. The first involves a small team of Sales, Application/Service, and Marketing resources, supplemented by city/regional distributors, who promote and sell our technologies directly to hospital/healthcare buyers in India. We also actively look for collaborations with NGOs and Global Health players to drive product adoption in low-resource or capital-constrained areas. All our installations are supported on the ground by local application/service teams.
Non-grant revenues are generated through sale of devices and associated services to the customers (private, government hospitals and public health facilities of various kinds such as PHCs, CHC and DH). However, we raise additional funds through institutional investors, Grants, CSR foundations to conduct large scale deployments or pilots to establish and improve our product thereby positively impacting the lives of those in need. The results of our projects are reported to our sponsors at regular intervals to access the overall impact. We also collaborate with state governments to conduct large scale deployments to improve the overall public health with an aim to help achieve the SDG targets for neonatal mortality in low-resource settings.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?
Organizations (B2B)What is your plan for becoming financially sustainable, and what evidence can you provide that this plan has been successful so far?
Our programs are designed in such a way that it is a one-time investment largely from the government or donors with a self-sustainable model.
Sustainability is driven through the following initiatives:
1. Enter into a Rate Contract for the consumables required to treat patients on an ongoing basis, ensuring availability of high-quality, validated consumables for safe and effective treatment.
2. Post the warranty period, enter into Maintenance Contracts to ensure comprehensive service support through the device life
3. The on-ground team and local relationships developed leveraged to promote InnAccel’s other products across the State, in both Government and private hospitals
Solution Team
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Our Organization
InnAccel Technologies Pvt. Ltd.