While a reduction in mortality is perhaps the most obvious and immediate benefit of prompt intervention using this invention, an equally valuable benefit lies with the prevention of medical complications from severe carbon monoxide poisoning in those individuals who survive.
It is well-described in the literature that carbon monoxide poisoning often results in significant toxicity to the central nervous system (CNS). Most of the damage from carbon monoxide poisoning in the CNS is believed to occur in the white matter. Moreover, the effects of significant carbon monoxide poisoning in the CNS are often irreversible and result in neurologic disability. The long-lasting CNS complications from carbon monoxide poisoning can leave individuals with permanent neurological deficits that require long-term rehabilitation.
Given the fact that there are about 4000 hospitalization each year in the United States due to carbon monoxide poisoning, the additional cost associated with the life-long care of a single individual affected with neurologic disability from carbon monoxide poisoning can easily reach into the tens of millions of dollars. Therefore, in addition to its life-saving benefit in the setting of severe carbon monoxide poisoning, this breakthrough technology would be expected to make a profound impact in reducing, and in some cases eliminating CNS complications and thereby prevent serious long-term neurological deficits in survivors.
Although not as dramatic as the CNS complications, carbon monoxide poisoning can also result in cardiac toxicity. Analogous to what is described in the above paragraph, this medical device would also be expected to reduce the likelihood of permanent heart damage.
An article published in December 2015 by Neil B. Hampson, who has studied carbon monoxide poisoning for approximately thirty years, estimated that accidental carbon monoxide poisoning conservatively costs society over 1.3 billion dollars every year!
Figure 1 in the above article shows a comprehensive flowchart that details this cost breakdown.
After this current invention is successfully deployed to all Level I and Level II Trauma Centers in the United States, and when properly used, it is quite reasonable to expect a cost savings to society of somewhere between 300 million and 400 million dollars each and every year.
It may even be possible to achieve a cost saving of 500 million dollars annually. This rather impressive figure still represents less than half of the 1.3 billion dollar cost to society that is caused by accidental carbon monoxide poisoning every year.