Background

Oxygen is the most commonly used drug, necessary for treating a wide range of conditions including respiratory illness and trauma.^1,2 The current standard for oxygen usage is manual titration, where a healthcare provider re-evaluates a patient’s blood oxygenation level, or SpO₂, and manually turns the flowmeter knob to change the oxygen flow rate. Low-resource settings often face intermittent oxygen access exacerbated by limited healthcare personnel, as oxygen is overused when a patient’s condition improves but healthcare providers are not available to decrease the flow rate. Our solution — OASIS, or Oxygen Auto-titrating System for Increased Sustainability — is an affordable, automatic oxygen titration system that adjusts oxygen flow rate based on real-time patient SpO₂ values, limiting oxygen overuse. With OASIS, patients receive oxygenation that matches their live oxygen needs, and healthcare providers no longer have to constantly check patients’ SpO₂ values. Our oxygen flow rate modulation algorithm and easy-to-use Graphical User Interface (GUI) are integrated with our hardware components for an accessible product focused on oxygen conservation. Our results show a 0.24 L/min error in flow rate modulation, comparable to human error present when turning the flowmeter knob.

Design

Software

Front-end designed with the
Python Tkinter Package and backend was developed with threading processes.

Hardware

3D printed motor encasement, printed PCB board, and height-adjustable module.

Automatic Processing

OASIS's algorithmic process reads data in real time and makes the appropriate decision to titrate accurate oxygen delivery while displaying the patient's vital signs such as heart rate and respiratory rate.

Alarms

Various alarms are set up for unexpected drastic conditions that may affect patient health. The alarm shown below is one of many, demonstrating the. need to switch from nasal cannula to rebreather mask due to low SpO₂.