FREO2 Snorkel pilots in the Pacific.
By Matthew James, FREO2 Product Manager
We are thrilled to announce that FREO2’s latest ‘Snorkel’ innovation has commenced its pilot program in the Solomon Islands.
Many oxygen concentrators in low-resource settings malfunction due to overheating and compressor motor failure, typically caused by blocked air intakes, filters, or debris accumulation in the compressor. FREO2 Snorkel is designed to support our Oxylink-5 concentrators through an additional filtration system at a low cost, to extend the lifespan of our oxygen concentrators, without affecting performance or requiring electricity.
The FREO2 Australia team have been working closely with suppliers and have manufactured two components for Snorkel at the University of Melbourne using our 3D printer. As part of our collaboration with Bollé Safety AU, 50 Snorkel devices have now been assembled for deployment.
In February this year, the FREO2 team launched Snorkel at two sites in the Solomon Islands. The remaining Snorkels are in the process of being distributed to Uganda and Tanzania for site-by-site rollout as regular site maintenance is performed.
