Ayooshi Mitra, Amity University, Kolkata
A small but important aspect of managing a pandemic virus infection that affects the lungs, including SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), and influenza, is mechanical ventilation. Generally, ventilators are costly, difficult to maintain, and need considerable training to use. The majority of ventilators rely on high-flow oxygen and medically pure compressed air supplies, which are not always readily available in many countries across the world.
Recently, scientists from the United Kingdom were awarded funding to develop a robust, low-cost ventilator to help patients suffering from severe respiratory problems due to COVID-19, in low and middle-income countries. A team of researchers, coordinated by the Daresbury Laboratory of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), aims to develop and test plans for the implementation of an affordable, safe, and easy-to-use ventilator that does not rely exclusively on compressed gases and the supply of electricity to the power system. This project, referred to as the High-Performance Low-Cost Ventilator (HPLV), has been constructed on the original HEV (High Energy Physics Ventilator) designs developed during the first lockdown at CERN. The team for HEV and HPLV will be working in coordination with international partners from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) as well as the University of Birmingham, the University of Liverpool, and the Medical Devices Testing and Evaluation Centre (MDTEC), to develop a ventilator focused on quality and patient comfort. The project will run for six months between October 2020 and April 2021, with a small percentage of funding to support the transfer of HPLV technology to industrial partners, over the next 12 months.
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Reference: https://scitechdaily.com/uk-scientists-to-produce-low-cost-high-performance-ventilators/
Picture Credit: CERN
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