MIT releases free blueprints for cheap breathing apparatus that can be copied in every hospital in the world

One of the serious problems faced by hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic was the lack of ventilators. Breathing apparatus, or mechanical ventilation, is an essential medical device, helping keep respiratory failure patients exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide when they are no longer able to breathe on their own.

On the market, each such machine can cost up to 30,000 USD (equivalent to 7 billion VND).

However, a group of engineers, doctors and computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) of the United States is designing a cheap ventilator that can be quickly assembled around the world to address it. Shortages in the COVID-19 pandemic.

MIT releases free blueprints for cheap breathing apparatus that can be copied in every hospital in the world Picture 1

The team, called E-Vent (short for " emergency ventilator "), was founded on March 12. They gathered a team of doctors, engineers, and scientists. computers to revive a project implemented in 2010 but still incomplete.

In this project, engineering students in MIT's Medical Equipment Design 2.75 class created a simple breathing device, which can be built for less than $ 100. They published a detailed scientific paper on the design and testing of this device. But the work ended on paper there, just as a practical exercise for students.

However, in the context of hospitals around the world now facing the risk of lack of ventilators in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the MIT team believes that this student's scientific work is time to come. use.

The machine MIT students designed 10 years ago included an Ambu balloon, a hand-squeeze balloon often used by doctors in emergency care for patients at the scene of an accident where the ventilator unavailable.

It also has an endotracheal tube that is passed through the patient's throat like a modern mechanical ventilator. However, the squeeze of the ball was released from human strength.

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Typically, a Covid-19 patient will require mechanical ventilation about 2 weeks. If the Ambu ball is squeezed by hand, the medical staff will have to sit constantly next to them. The ball also needs to be squeezed millions of times, each time it must be the right technique and only skilled doctors can undertake this job.

The task of the MIT team is to create a mechanical hardware, mimicking the squeeze ball technique of emergency physicians. At the same time, it must also ensure the durability of the device.

Ambu balloon is currently a medical equipment that any hospital in the world has and can take advantage of. But if the balls are torn or broken midway through the squeeze process, the patient will immediately fall into danger.

That's why the MIT team needs a comprehensive collaboration from skilled doctors, mechanical engineers, electronics and computers to ensure the machine works at its best.

"We are constantly updating and releasing design guidelines (including clinical, mechanical, electrical / control, testing), " one team member said. " We encourage competent clinical technical teams to work with their local resources, while following these key safety and technical specifications."

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The MIT team said it had shared all the documents and blueprints that it used to make cheap ventilators for free. However, they warn that this is not an equipment that an amateur can make at home.

It requires an in-depth understanding of the clinical technical interface and the ability to closely follow the guidelines and specifications set out by the MIT team, based on the strict standards of the Food and Drug Administration. United States (FDA).

Such devices " must be manufactured in accordance with FDA requirements and should only be used under the supervision of a clinician," one MIT team member said.

" The US Department of Health and Human Services has issued a notice saying that all medical interventions related to Covid-19 are no longer legally responsible, but that does not change responsibility. take care of our patients ".

" Currently, we are waiting for the FDA's response to the project. Finally, our goal is to get FDA approval. Although, that process will of course take time."

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E-Vent said its group currently operates completely voluntarily and without funding. They also did not reveal the details of the participants, because so many people called to ask for more information about the project and the machine's specifications.

" We really, really want to focus ," one of the team said. All project information is publicly available on the E-vent website, so that any team in the world who wants to copy the work and collate the specs of the machine can download it. free.

"The important thing to think about is patient safety. So we have to establish what we call the minimum clinical function requirement. It's the minimum set of functions that the device It needs to be done to be both safe and effective for the sick, " said one member of the group, an engineer and a doctor.

He said that one of the things he was doing was translating medical and technical specialty languages ​​into words and concepts that both groups could understand.

The determination of minimum clinical functional requirements is made by a team of physicians with a broad clinical background, including general anesthesia and intensive care in the ICU. At the same time, the engineering team will design and build a prototype ventilator for testing.

The team says it has improved at least two prototypes, and constantly updating them on its website allows other research teams to follow the progress. Although the intensity of work is currently very large, but everyone is trying hard.

" We all work together, and the ultimate goal is to help everyone who [COVID-19 has severe respiratory distress] is precarious between life and death, " one member of the E-Vent team said.

If you can gather a competent team to build this ventilator, you can visit the MIT team website here. If not, as said, this machine is definitely not suitable for an amateur DIY.

Reference MIT