Observer Reporter
Sunday, May 1, 2005

Waynesburg group designs better future
BY C.R. Nelson

WAYNESBURG - The research is just beginning, but already the word is out.

Separation Design Group of Waynesburg recently was awarded $152,977 by the Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to design a lightweight portable oxygen concentrator that can be used by patients who need continuous oxygen therapy.

It's a design that offers hope to the millions who dream of something that will free them from bulky, pressurized tank systems that are actually scaled-down versions of the same complex mechanical equipment used by steel mills and glass factories.

"Since this grant was listed on the (NIH) Web site, we have received numerous inquiries from not only companies wishing to partner with us, but from oxygen patients themselves," said associate manager Judith Galbraith.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - COPD - afflicts more than 12 million Americans, and those who use medical oxygen struggle not only with the noise, size and safety issues involved with today's concentrators, but also with the fact that nearly every form of public transportation has some restrictions governing their use.

SDGroup's proposed device would eliminate the need for tanks and mechanical compressors by using their patented adsorption technology to produce a continuous delivery of nearly pure oxygen.
Today's most sophisticated portable battery-powered oxygen concentrators weigh more than a gallon of milk and are the size of a toaster, the company's case study notes. How comfortable would you be carrying this everywhere?

Their prototype is designed to be a much smaller package, safely unpressurized, delivering its quiet breath of fresh air for up to three hours per 500 gram battery.

The science behind the project received high marks from the NIH reviewers - "this is a solid proposal using an innovative technology" - and on April 11 the official notification arrived.

"This grant helps support our ongoing research in separation technology, which includes oxygen enrichment for combustion, aquaculture, fuel cells as well as portable medical oxygen," Galbraith said.
When the NIH grant was applied for last August, the company was already researching oxygen enrichment for combustion, funded in part by a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research Award through the National Science Foundation.

Now, with this Small Business Technology Transfer grant, designed to bring small businesses and nonprofit research institutions together, Waynesburg College will be working, lab-to-lab, with SDGroup. Waynesburg College professor Dr. Robert LaCount, who also is involved as an individual research chemist on other company projects, will be responsible for supervising the tests in both locations as the principal investigator.

"This is an opportunity for the college to be involved with an important research project that's happening in our own back yard, so to speak,"La Count said. "The college will use its instrumentation to do performance testing of the products developed throughout the project."

LaCount's students will benefit from the collaboration. The grant provides money for lab assistants and special finite element analysis computer modeling software that will stay with the college after the project is completed.

"I'm pleased to be involved with the project particularly since it is being completed in our community," LaCount said. "Waynesburg College is interested in cooperating with projects that have the potential to benefit economic development in the region, and working with the SDGroup NIH project is an example of this interest."

Technology creator and company CEO Doug Galbraith sees many potential applications for the technology beyond medical oxygen.

"Worker and recreational performance at high altitudes can be improved by breathing oxygen enriched air. Astronomical observatories are already using oxygen concentrators to keep their personnel alert and safe. Private aircraft pilots and balloonists could also benefit from this. Ultimately, our customers drive our research direction," he said.