Smart Tubing

Smart Tubing is developing the next generation of connected respiratory care by transforming conventional oxygen tubing into an intelligent monitoring platform. Today, oxygen therapy relies on passive tubing that provides no feedback on whether oxygen is actually reaching the patient. Undetected blockages, disconnections, or interruptions can delay intervention, compromise treatment, and increase healthcare costs. Our solution combines a compact IoT monitoring device with intelligent oxygen tubing to continuously monitor oxygen delivery and immediately alert patients and caregivers when a problem occurs. Alerts are delivered through three complementary channels: highly visible illumination of the tubing, a local audible alarm, and secure remote notifications to caregivers, family members, nursing staff, or healthcare providers. The monitoring device is also compatible with standard oxygen tubing, enabling flexible deployment across both existing installations and new smart tubing systems. At the core of the platform is a novel non-invasive sensing technology that measures oxygen flow without contacting the gas path, eliminating the maintenance, cleaning, and reliability challenges associated with conventional inline flow sensors. This approach reduces system complexity, lowers operating costs, and is well suited for long-term home and clinical use. Smart Tubing is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing respiratory care workflows, supporting both clinical environments and remote patient monitoring. Real-time data can be incorporated alongside other connected medical devices, enabling healthcare providers to monitor patients in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and at home through a unified digital ecosystem. Our business model combines a reusable IoT monitoring device—sold or rented depending on the care setting—with an illuminated disposable oxygen tube that integrates naturally into existing oxygen therapy practices while creating recurring revenue opportunities. Because the monitoring device also operates with conventional oxygen tubing, healthcare providers can adopt the platform incrementally without replacing existing infrastructure. Smart Tubing has successfully developed and tested multiple working prototypes and secured key manufacturing and development partners, including AirLife, a leading medical tubing manufacturer, Harbor, and Zco, specialists in medical device hardware and software development. We are currently preparing for an Institutional Review Board (IRB) study with Massachusetts General Hospital later this year as a major milestone toward clinical validation. Our long-term vision is to build the connected sensing platform for respiratory care, enabling intelligent, low-cost, non-invasive monitoring across hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home healthcare while improving patient safety and reducing the cost of respiratory care.

Millions of patients depend on home oxygen therapy, yet today's oxygen tubing provides no way to detect blockages or verify that oxygen is reaching the patient. This lack of visibility increases patient risk, delays intervention, and drives avoidable healthcare costs.