Diary Entry #4

Incredible Invention

By
Dr. Mudit Mathur
PICU Intensivist

And

David Seymour
Respiratory Therapist


In Egypt, supplies can be difficult to obtain. One can be very spoiled in the U.S. with all that we have available. Due to cost, it seems that some supplies can be rare or completely unavailable to both hospitals and individuals. For example, areochambers are very expensive so there were none available. They can cost anywhere between 150-200 Egyptian pounds, more than one month’s salary.

An areochamber is used to enhance medication delivery from an inhaler. To create an aerochamber, we had to do some on-the-spot creative thinking.
We built one using an ambo bag mask, tape, and an empty plastic bottle along with a pair of scissors. The device however, does not need the mask to work. A hole was cut in the bottom of a 500 cc Ringers Lactate bottle for the inhaler port. Tape was placed on the cut plastic to create a good seal when the inhaler is inserted.


Tape was also placed over the top of the bottle with a single cut through the middle to create a makeshift valve.


Now you have it! A functional aerochamber that you don’t have to take out a loan for!