Project Description:

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an extremely common respiratory pathogen that results in mild cold-like symptoms. However, when left untreated in infants especially, it can lead to more severe cases that include an inflammation of the small airways or pneumonia. Every year the CDC reports around 60000 to 80000 children under 5 years old are diagnosed and hospitalized with RSV. Even with these drastic numbers there is no early detection diagnostic method for RSV to prevent hospitalizations. The current standard is a nasopharyngeal swab, which is uncomfortable and has a high risk of irritating and damaging the infant’s nasal passage. Our solution integrates with the Nozebot by Dr. NozeBest to collect nasal secretions as they are being aspirated from the infant’s nasal passage. The polypropylene nosepiece has an internal collection reservoir and an external filtration and tubing attachment. Once the reservoir is full, the user can seal the nosepiece with the aspirates inside using silicone friction fit caps and send the nosepiece to a lab so the aspirates can be tested for pathogens. We tested the container itself using a variety of durability and stress tests, and we created a model of an infant’s nose to test the aspiration and collection components of our device using various viscous liquids that mimic mucus. Our proposed solution collects twice as much aspirate as the original NozeBot nosepiece, and the external filtration design ensures that 99% of the aspirates remain inside the reservoir. This solution allows for much earlier diagnosis, leading to less unnecessary hospitalizations and earlier treatment opportunities, ultimately saving time, money, and stress on the infant’s parents and healthcare workers.