Holguín doctor uses innovation to improve patient care
- Written by Lourdes Pichs Rodríguez
- Published in Health
- Hits: 48
Dr. Luis Enrique Velázquez Sanz, a specialist in Intensive and Emergency Medicine at the Lucía Íñiguez Landín Clinical-Surgical Hospital in Holguín, has responded to the challenges caused by the U.S. economic blockade through innovation.
Facing shortages of medical supplies, he designed an adapter that allows the use of lithium batteries instead of traditional LR14 batteries used in medical devices such as laryngoscopes, ophthalmoscopes, dermatoscopes, and otoscopes.
His proposal consists of a simple yet effective technological adaptation: replacing conventional batteries—which are scarce in Cuban hospitals—with longer-lasting and rechargeable lithium ones.
This advance ensures the proper functioning of crucial emergency care instruments like laryngoscopes, which are essential for tracheal intubation and larynx examination.
The doctor explained that since 2023, the hospital has received only seven LR14 batteries, while each laryngoscope requires two. Facing this reality, he sought a practical and sustainable solution. His invention includes a small circuit with a Battery Management System (BMS) that enables the recharging of lithium cells recovered from old lamps and light bulbs, providing an ecological reuse of available materials.
Velázquez highlighted that lithium batteries have a much longer lifespan than LR14 ones and are significantly cheaper, while the latter last only a few months and cost about two U.S. dollars each, the new system costs less than 500 CUP and can remain functional for years, needing to be recharged only every three or four months.
His innovation stands as an example of medical creativity and resilience in the face of Cuba’s material constraints.
