SLAF PRODUCED 'HUMIDIFIED OXYGEN THERAPY UNIT' PRESENTED TO THE PRESIDENT

A 'Heated Humidified Oxygen Therapy Unit' (HHOT) manufactured by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) was presented to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President's Office recently.

In a bid to strengthen the national healthcare drive while providing ventilators, SLAF commenced the manufacturing of HHOT following the directives of the President.

The SLAF said, a prototype was manufactured and subjected to rigorous testing for over 200 hours in order to check its limitations, safety features and performance standards.

Afterwards, it was presented to the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) of Sri Lanka and successfully completed the second evaluation on June 25, 2020 with compliance to IEC 60601 Electrical Safety Standard as confirmed by the Moratuwa University.

The SLAF also said, initially projected estimate of Rs 1.5 million was later reduced to Rs. 300,000 following committed hard work by their engineering teams.

On completion of the testing, the equipment was authorized for clinical trials where one prototype was utilized at the Colombo National Hospital.

After trials at the National Hospitals, the prototype unit has now been installed at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University Hospital, Werahera and two more SLAF manufactured units are currently operational at the SLAF Hospitals.

SLAF experts and engineering teams along with the medical professionals led the project under the close supervision of the Air Force Commander.

Health Minister Hon. Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Defence Secretary Gen. Kamal Gunaratne (Retd), Health Ministry Secretary Maj. Gen. Sanjeewa Munasinghe (Retd), SLAF Commander Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana, a medical expert of the design team Dr. Thilanka Ratnapala and Air force officers were present at the occasion.