Low Cost Medical Ventilator
Final Major Project
A versatile and affordable breathing device for less economically developed countries.
Due to the global pandemic COVID-19 2020, there has been a massive shortage of mechanical breathing ventilators due to the huge infection and death rates from the Corona Virus outbreak. Even the most wealthy countries in the world have struggled to supply patients in need of a breathing apparatus to save their lives.
So, thinking ahead if a virus outbreak infected less economically developed parts of the world in the future, they would be in great need of low cost, rapidly constructed, and life-saving medical ventilator devices.
Low Cost Ventilator | Exploded Diagram of Components
A list of the essential internal parts:
- A resuscitation bag, this will be piped to the patient, the patient needs to be quite close to the unit as if it was a long tube in-between, the oxygen can shuttle backwards and forwards and isn’t effective.
- A repurposed 100ml syringe as a pneumatic ram, which is mounted in a fixing free frame with two springs.
- The air regulator is key for setting a constant pressure, which flows the correct amount of air and oxygen to the patient’s lungs.
- The controls at the back alter the breath in, breath out and oxygen, they can be set individually.
- The key part of the design includes the two-port valve block (one for breath in and one for breath out), which is switched over by a spring mechanism. The importance of this spring is that when it reached a critical point, it finishes the stroke and throws over to switch the valve.
- Also, the case size accuracy (injection moulded Polycarbonate plastic), is vitally important as it holds the internal structure together without fixings, so if it’s out of proportion, none of the internals will fit correctly.
Features:
-Manual back up pump, powered by the supervisor to physically push air into the patient's lungs.
-The system is powered by air and oxygen, no electrical source required.
-Locally-sourced materials from Algeria and nearby countries close to the less economically developed clusters.
-The low-cost ventilator system is a pressure and volume controlled device for invasive ventilation.
-The versatile and easy to use system allows the intended paramedic or nurse to have all the essential components in one product, which leaves them hassle-free from needing any extra equipment.
-The three simple switches on the rear of the design allow the supervisor of the device to alter the inhale/exhale airspeeds for the patient, as well as the oxygen input.
(See downloads section for an animation demonstration of the ventilator system in use.)
Low Cost Ventilator | Prototype
1|1 Scale Prototype
Each single ventilator system can cater for up to four patients to use with the same air pressure, which is a 75% increase of users able to use one device compared to the typical modern-day ventilator system which only allows one.
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