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A visiting Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the Imperial College London, Hippolite Amadi, has emerged winner of the 2023 Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) prize for his novel scientific work on respiratory technologies that keeps Nigerian new-born babies alive.
The Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Science, Thursday, announced Professor Amadi as winner of the prize worth $100,000, sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG).
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the Prize’s Advisory Board, led by a former Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji, affirmed that the judges’ verdict was based on the 2023 theme “Innovation for Enhancement of Healthcare Therapy”.
Referencing the judges’ report, Professor Nnaji said the work by Professor Amadi has not only significantly advanced neonatal care in Nigeria and similar countries, but it has also further improved access and lowered the cost of neonatal care by causing an observed reduction in the market prices of the competing and existing devices.
He disclosed that, “The entry showcased three (3) technological innovations aimed at saving the lives of neonates by making the delivery of oxygen cheap and easy. The first innovation is the non-invasive Neonatal Ventilator, a key invention (The bubble PoliteCPAP) for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation of very low-birth-weight neonates, a feasible alternative to the readily available improvised bubble CPAP (IBCPAP) in cost-constrained settings.
“The second and third innovations are the Oxygen Delivery Blender System, which allows for the safe delivery of oxygen without the danger of toxicity, and the Oxygen Splitter System, which allows for the use of a shared source of oxygen to many neonates at a time, in situations where piped oxygen is not available. These devices are all solar powered.”
He stated further that the devices have been tried by practitioners at various places including University Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, UniAbuja, ABU Zaria as well as hospitals in Minna, Abakaliki among others across Nigeria.
He affirmed that there are reports from those hospitals that the innovation, PoliteCPAP, is an improvement on the existing device as it provides access to ventilators and oxygen delivery simultaneously to neonates at an extremely reduced cost of N750, 000 as against N6.5 million for the existing device with comparable and better efficiency.
Reacting to the verdict, NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mr. Andy Odeh said the decision of the judges was a testament to the power of collaboration between the private sector, academia, and the broader scientific community.
