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Repurposing CPAP machines as stripped-down ventilators

The worldwide shortage of medical-grade ventilators is a well-known issue, that has become one of the central topics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that these machines are expensive and have long lead times, one approach is to vacate them for patients in critical conditions while patients with...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Nguyen, J., Kesper, K., Kräling, G., Birk, C., Mross, P., Hofeditz, N., Höchst, J., Lampe, P., Penning, A., Leutenecker-Twelsiek, B., Schindler, C., Buchenauer, H., Geisel, D., Sommer, C., Henning, R., Wallot, P., Wiesmann, T., Beutel, B., Schneider, G., Castro-Camus, E., Koch, M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group UK 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8190155/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34108549
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91673-7
Descripción
Sumario:The worldwide shortage of medical-grade ventilators is a well-known issue, that has become one of the central topics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that these machines are expensive and have long lead times, one approach is to vacate them for patients in critical conditions while patients with mild to moderate symptoms are treated with stripped-down ventilators. We propose a mass-producible solution that can create such ventilators with minimum effort. The central part is a module that can be attached to CPAP machines and repurpose them as low-pressure ventilators. Here, we describe the concept and first measurements which underline the potential of our solution. Our approach may serve as a starting point for open-access ventilator technologies.