Skip to main content
Industry & alumni

PATH

The Impact of Respiratory Care Equipment Product Proliferation on Spare Parts Supply Chains

To treat severely ill COVID-19 patients, medical oxygen is critical. Oxygen requires a set of different biomedical devices to be produced, stored and administered as well as devices to monitor a patient's response to treatment. Program for Appropriate Technology in Heath (PATH) collected data on medical devices in various low and middle income countries and found that public health facilities own a brought variance of device makes and models - even within a facility. Some device categories have upwards 25 different makes and models. This large variability has severe operational consequences. One consequence is spare parts proliferation: for many different makes and models different spare parts are required. Spare parts proliferation increases cost and introduces complexity into the supply chain. This student team worked to create a quantitative model capturing the important dynamics and explore the consequences of proliferation. Outcomes this student team worked towards included a quantitative analysis showing the impact of equipment proliferation on spare parts supply chains in low-and-middle income countries and a qualitative description of managerial approaches to reduce the negative consequences.

Faculty Adviser(s)

Patty Buchanan, Industrial & Systems Engineering

Related News

Five students in front of their poster at the capstone expo.

Mon, 10/13/2025 | UW Mechanical Engineering

Capstone collaboration leads to award

An ME capstone team received first place for its energy audit of the UW School of Social Work building.

UW students are joined by the Snohomish County Auditor and IT leadership at the 2025 Senior Design

Thu, 07/17/2025

UW engineering students develop smart ballot solution

UW engineering students develop smart technology solution to improve ballot collection for Snohomish County.

People examining a table with mechanical prototypes and a laptop at an exhibition.

Mon, 07/07/2025 | UW Mechanical Engineering

Capstone creations

Students displayed innovative capstone design projects at the 2025 expo.

Close-up of utility poles with mounted electronic devices and cables in an outdoor setting

Fri, 09/20/2024 | UW Civil & Environmental Engineering

Smarter irrigation for a greener UW

A new project combines satellite data with ground sensors to conserve water and create a more sustainable campus environment.