Acquiring critical, life changing equipment

The generosity of the WA community has enabled the Foundation to purchase a wide range of respiratory equipment.

Hand held spirometers, a device that measures the movement of air in and out of the lungs, are invaluable in the diagnosis of different lung diseases. They help to pinpoint the cause of shortness of breath and measure the progress of disease, treatment or medication.

Maintaining regular access to Perth Children’s Hospital and respiratory specialists is a challenge for our young patients who live in regional and remote areas. These spirometers are a critical tool of the Lung Outreach program reducing the need for lengthy hospital stays and isolation from their families. Each year more and more families require this support.

Blood analysis machines accurately identify the bacteria and viruses that cause irreversible lung damage in patients like Joel. This information helps our clinicians to target them with the most appropriate drugs and treatments. With your help, we have been able to purchase more of these ‘Digital Chain Reaction Time’ machines for the hospital’s Children’s Clinical Research Facility.

Ventilators are in high demand. Sadly every year, over 700 sick babies require very high dependency care.  Many of these infants have respiratory complications and require specialist equipment to assist them to breathe. With your help the Foundation has been able to purchase much needed ventilators for the Neonatal Intensive Care and Paediatric Critical Care units. We are incredibly thankful for your support.

Our work is on-going. There is so much more we want to do to help young patients with respiratory disease. 

All donations raised through our appeal will be dedicated to saving the lives of children with serious respiratory disease.

You can imagine that children with serious respiratory illnesses like Joel, often have a very disrupted education. They also struggle to connect with peers, as their families try to isolate them from the relentless risk of infection.

The  Foundation is funding research to develop a smartphone app that practically supports the social development and mental health of young people with CF. With the lived experience of young people like Joel at the heart of the app’s development – and in partnership with Monash Children’s Hospital –  our researchers are looking to make the Cy-Fi Space app more user-friendly, practical and effective.

Making sure that children with serious respiratory conditions in Western Australia get the very best medical care available, depends upon excellence in expertise, training and leadership. With your support, the Foundation funds a Professorial Chair of Respiratory Medicine, promoting a world class standard in teaching and supporting vital research projects in this field.

A critical area of new research involves examining the treatments for respiratory infections using alternatives to anti-biotics. We have also funded a fellowship awarded to Dr Adelaide Withers for a critical trial comparing the effectiveness of various asthma treatments in reducing the risk of severe complications. Supporting on-going research projects like these will definitely improve the medical outcomes for these sick children.