The Health Bank: Creating access to cost-effective respiratory therapy

As the medical community responds to Covid-19 on a global scale, it is becoming increasingly clear that non-invasive ventilation is critical for patient care in the hospital and at home. To meet this need, The Health Bank (THB) Global, a tech-enabled global health management company, has partnered with the US-based companies Subsalve and Nanotronics Health, LLC, to bring Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) to the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region.
"NIV helps hospitals and clinical facilities manage critical resources, alleviating the pressure to procure ventilators, which are not appropriate in all cases," said Salman Arif, CEO of The Health Bank Global. "We have the opportunity to free up ICU beds and to treat significantly more patients effectively if we do not rely solely on conventional invasive ventilation."
Research is underway to evaluate an NIV 'kit' comprising devices from both Subsalve and Nanotronics. In the respiratory kits, The Health Bank is pairing Subsalve's Oxygen Treatment Hood with nHaleTM, a non-invasive ventilator designed by Nanotronics Health, LLC, which obtained Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in traditional healthcare facilities as well as in at-home settings when prescribed by a doctor. Used in tandem, Subsalve's NIV helmet and nHaleTM provide a non-invasive respiratory care alternative for the treatment of Covid-19.
"We designed and built nHaleTM to meet the urgent need for non-invasive respiratory options for patients suffering from Covid-19," said Julie Orlando, President of Nanotronics Health, LLC. "This partnership will enable medical communities in the MENASA region to provide cost-effective respiratory therapy kits for the people who need them most."
NIV using oxygen treatment hoods for Covid-19 has proven to reduce the need for invasive intubation by up to 40 per cent in Italy. The result is a significant reduction in the need for ventilators, and reduced mortality.
A study on the effectiveness of NIV via helmet versus via face mask at the University of Chicago shows that the intubation rate was 61.5 per cent for the face mask group and 18.2 per cent for the helmet group, showing the effectiveness of NIV hoods in reducing the requirement for invasive intubation.
Physicians in the MENASA region are participating in a coordinated study through the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research with the support of Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari's Covid-19 Task Force. Researchers from New York University are organising data collection methods and refinement of these protocols with physician feedback.
THB Global, headquartered in Singapore, offers excellence in healthcare services using technology and innovation. THB has Virtual Hospital, Telehealth and Precision Medicine. The Virtual Hospital offers home care services by professionally trained clinical teams, under supervision of senior medical staff, physically and through remote monitoring. We offer our chronic and acute patients, hospital-grade care in the comfort of their home.
Telehealth enables THB to provide our members virtual healthcare by bringing all necessary services to them. We offer them Health Manager, electronic health records, doctor online, second opinion and a nutritionist. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, it saves unnecessary hospital visits, and exposure to the virus and risk. Through our digital platform and technologies we are able to manage, monitor and coordinate, care for our members remotely, leading to better health outcomes.
Precision Medicine is the practice of proactive and personalised approach to healthcare, taking into account individual variability in genetics, environmental and lifestyle factors. With a strong focus on prevention and wellness, we empower our members to be proactive about attaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, while preventing illness and disease, through our lifestyle and chronic disease management programmes. Our solutions encompass, preventing diabetes where possible, and providing efficient diabetes and hypertension management.