Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) is a treatment that promotes healing of chronic wounds. Despite high prevalence of chronic wounds in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), NPWT devices are not available nor affordable. This study aims to improve chronic wound care in LMICs by presenting the Wound Care (WOCA) system, designed for building, testing and use in LMICs. Design requirements were formulated using input from literature, ISO standards, and wound care experts. The WOCA design was developed to provide safe, portable, user-friendly and affordable NPWT to patients in LMICs. The design features an adjustable operating pressure ranging from −75 to −125 mmHg, a battery for portability, a 300 ml canister, overflow protection, and system state alarms. An Arduino controls the pressure and monitors the system state. Three prototypes were developed and built in Nepal, and their performance was evaluated. Pressure control was 125 ± 10 % mmHg, internal leakage was 7.5 ± 4.3 mmHg/min, reserve capacity was 189 ± 16.9 ml/min, and overflow protection and alarm systems were effectively working. Prototype cost was approximately 280 USD. The WOCA demonstrates to be a locally producible NPWT device that can safely generate a stable vacuum. Future research will include clinical trials situated in LMICs.

Vacuum-Assisted wound care (VAC) is effective for treating complex wounds, but is hardly available in low-resource settings. An affordable, portable and safe VAC device was developed to treat patients with chronic and complex wounds: the Wound Care (WOCA) Pump. The WOCA safely controls the pressure accurately (+/- 10%) between -70 and -125 mmHg for a total component cost of USD 150. In this research important steps were taken to make VAC therapy more accessible, affordable and safe for marginalised patients in low-resource settings. Next research will aim to assess its safe clinical use.