Making a Difference in Sudan

Two million unimmunized children under the age of 5 develop and die from acute respiratory infections every year in developing nations around the globe. But thanks to San Diego-based SeQual Technologies, that’s happening less often at the Duk Lost Boys Clinic in South Sudan.

The John Dau Sudan Foundation created the clinic in 2007. Foundation President John Dau is a survivor of a 14-year, 1,000-mile journey from his home village in Sudan to avoid being killed by government forces or pressed into rebel militia. A U.S. resident since 2001, Dau and 20,000 others who fled are known as the Lost Boys of Sudan.

Since opening, the Duk Lost Boys Clinic has provided at least 20,000 patients — including victims of ongoing civil war, malnutrition, HIV/AIDs and outbreaks of meningitis, cholera and malaria — with basic medical services.

But oxygen therapy was still needed at the clinic, especially for newborns, who are prone to oxygen deficiency and often need supplemental oxygen after birth, the foundation’s newsletter reports. “While oxygen is one of the most essential and widely used treatments in the U.S., it is rarely available as a therapy in developing countries,” JDSF says.

In fact, until March of this year when SeQual stepped in, the clinic’s medical team could merely watch children in severe respiratory distress fight for air and eventually die. The clinic uses solar panels to generate its power and, depending on the weather, may not have enough power to support an oxygen concentrator on a continuing basis. Liquid oxygen isn’t an option, either, because roads surrounding the clinic are often impassable.

The combination of unstable power and the need for easy transport suggested portable oxygen concentrators. So after learning of the situation, SeQual sent in three POCs. The Eclipse, SeQual’s POC, can run on a battery and on AC or DC power, thus offering a solution if the electricity fluctuates.

SeQual CEO Ron Richard says the device is well suited for the Sudan mission because previous military use in similar conditions showed success in treating desaturations and hypoxia. The Department of Defense also has approved the Eclipse for use in U.S. military helicopters, which means it must be able to function in extreme temperatures such as those in the rugged Sudan desert, which can reach 120 degrees.

“We have over 30,000 units in the field and over 8 million patient hours, so we were confident that the clinic in Sudan would benefit from using the Eclipse,” Richard says.

“The ability to offer a powerful oxygen system that is truly portable with the features and benefits of the Eclipse make it a great match for this type of application.”

Based on communications from John Dau on the Eclipse’s performance, Richard says the clinic staff is pleased with the results, and its physicians can now treat patients in need of oxygen on a routine basis.

“Time will tell whether the old or young benefit most, but the diseases [existing in the country] affect all ages and kill patients in all age groups, so the potential is that oxygen capability will be life-saving,” according to JDSF’s Dr. David Reed, who notes the local Sudanese people have no knowledge of what oxygen delivery systems do or what the need for oxygen is during illness.

In addition, says Richard, “We believe this project has created more awareness related to the needs of patients and clinicians in third-world countries and thinking outside the box to come up with solutions.”

The thought is in line with clinic founder Dau’s motto: “Hope is never lost.”