The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the dramatic negative impacts of medical oxygen shortages on human health. It has also laid bare the broader operational and logistical hurdles that many health systems in low- and middle-income countries face when transporting medical oxygen from the plant to patients, including but not limited to patients with pneumonia – the single largest infectious cause of death in children worldwide.

For example, whether medical oxygen is produced via pressure swing absorption (PSA) or cryogenic air separation, expensive and energy-intensive compressors are required to bottle and deliver it in high-pressure cylinders. When these cylinders are filled with medical oxygen, they also weigh up to 80kg and can be burdensome to transport. Despite some pandemic-related investment in oxygen production infrastructure globally, innovation is needed to address these challenges so medical oxygen can more easily, affordably, and sustainably reach patients who need it.  

Early-stage research and analysis by GH Labs indicate that the logistics for filling and delivering medical oxygen can be dramatically improved by replacing gas cylinders with liquid oxygen (LOX) cryo cannisters, which enable providers to passively gasify LOX at the point-of-use (e.g., prior to administrating the oxygen to the patient via standard methods). Just one 200 liters-sized cryo cannister replaces the weight and volume of approximately 20 of the largest-sized high-pressure cylinders, which is the volume used by a typical small-sized primary healthcare facility in one month. The cannisters also eliminate the machinery and electricity needed for filling gas cylinders, ensuring customers get more oxygen and providers navigate fewer supply chain equipment challenges.  

In 2023, GH Labs and our technical collaborators will continue to evaluate the viability of the technology solution at various health system levels and explore adaptions that help cryo cannisters to integrate with local infrastructure, enabling their sustainable use.