SOCAP11 Social Entrepreneur Spotlight: Pamela Bandyopadhyay Pavkov, Inspire Medical (South Asia)

What problem are you addressing? Why should people care?
According to the WHO, pneumonia is the leading killer of children – more than measles, malaria and AIDS combined. More than half of these deaths result from inadequate access to appropriate treatment. Bangladesh ranks fifth in the world in terms of the incidence of pneumonia, with six million children contracting the disease each year.
Inspire is a low-cost breathing assistant for children with pneumonia and other forms of respiratory distress. Bubble CPAP (continuous pressure positive airway pressure), the critical care therapy used to treat pneumonia in the developing world, relies upon pressurized oxygen to expand patients’ lungs. Unfortunately, oxygen supply is unpredictable and expensive in rural settings. As such, doctors are often unable to administer Bubble CPAP to patients who need it to survive.
Inspire makes Bubble CPAP oxygen independent by pressurizing room air to expand patients’ lungs. Given that Inspire can also blend oxygen with ambient air, Inspire has the capacity to improve safety: traditional Bubble CPAP delivers 100% pure oxygen, which can be toxic. Finally, because Inspire uses room air, it is less than 1% the cost of current Bubble CPAP treatment.