The small business contractor, Oceanic Medical Products Inc., recently became a DSCP ECAT supplier with its new, portable anesthesia unit that can be deployed quickly by field medical personnel so that surgery or emergency care can be administered promptly. (Hospital-based units are usually much larger and are connected to large cylinders of anesthetic gasses.)

These life-critical devices were first ordered by the U.S. Army for Afghanistan and Iraq battlefield use in 2006. Severe testing at the Redstone Arsenal, however, caused Army technical personnel to insist on an adapter kit for existing units as well as a redesign for new ones that would sustain their functioning in the most extreme conditions imaginable. This resulted in initial deliveries to customers taking place in January 2007.

According to an article in the Acheson (KS) Star, "During development of the Magellan-2200 anesthesia machine, which DSCP is now buying for its Service customers, the Department of Defense "blasted prototypes with dirt and sand, froze them and subjected them to extreme heat."

"Then they shook the gizzard out of them and dropped them out of the backs of trucks," said the company’s President, Rodney Peake. He added, "I am very proud to report that our machine worked."

"The Magellan-2200 Model 1 is much more compact and flexible, easy to move and was designed for military field hospitals, general civilian hospitals, office-based anesthesia and surgery centers of every description," Peake added, reducing the weight of previously-used mobile anesthesia machines by almost seventy-five percent. This, according to Peake, means that only one person is needed to move and set-up the device as opposed to the two or three people required to move and set-up previous field anesthesia machines.

The Magellan-2200 Model 1 is powered by compressed air and may be mounted on a tabletop or moveable cart. The device is designed as a simple-to-operate unit
containing all of the modes and necessary components to deliver a basic anesthetic, including a mechanical ventilator and a single agent vaporizer. All of the safety systems required are employed onboard and easy to utilize, according to the vendor’s web site.

Physiologic monitoring, at the operator’s choice, may be performed as a separate, but necessary, procedure, again according to the Oceanic web site. This monitoring capability is critical to determine statistically whether the proper amount of anesthetic has been delivered to ensure adequate time for surgical procedures to be completed—but not too much that might harm the patient and delay return to full consciousness.

Oceanic has recently developed a second portable anesthesia machine, the Magellan 2200 unit called the Model 2. This unit has been developed as a result of user feedback from the Magellan 2200 Model 1 unit. Both units are now available for ordering on the DSCP ECAT contract.

Medical acquisition specialist Naomi Jay, who helped locate and begin DSCP’s association with Oceanic, commented on the association: "They’re a small business with an obviously high-performance and condition-specific product line that suits them especially well to the challenges we face in supporting U.S. warfighters under conditions of heavy dust, high winds, and extreme heat. Mobility is essential, as the face of the battle against guerilla forces moves very quickly."

"This is a true ‘critical item’ which quick availability after battlefield injuries can often mean the difference between lives lost and lives saved," said Tony Giunta, the Contracting Officer responsible for this acquisition in the Medical Supplier Operations Directorate, Critical Care Section. "We know we’re making a significant difference for the warfighter when we buy these things," he added.