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Updated: Nov 17, 2025

Remote Laboratory Management: Respiratory Virus Diagnostics
Published on: April 6, 2019
The rapid development of AmboVent: a simple yet sustainable ventilation solution for use in a pandemic
Gideon Meiry1, David Alkaher2, Yoav Mintz3,4
1Galilee Medical Center, NanoMedTech, Nahariya, Israel.
Introduction:
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged at the end of 2019, generating a rapidly evolving pandemic, raising serious global health implications. Among them was the fear of a mechanical ventilator shortage due to COVID-19's high contagion rate and pathophysiology. Fears of a ventilator shortage unleashed a wave of innovations.
Material And Method:
This manuscript describes the AmboVent, a ventilator, rapidly developed with a sense of urgency, by a group of Israeli volunteers.
Results:
Using a decentralized approach, we worked extensively and managed within ten days to create a working ventilator. It utilizes a 64-year-old technological concept, the bag valve mask (BVM), sometimes known by the proprietary name Ambu bag, which we transformed into an automatic, controlled, and feature-rich ventilator by endowing it with contemporary computing technology.
Conclusions:
Applying a functional rather than a commercial-oriented approach can result in the ad hoc development of lifesaving solutions during a rapidly spreading pandemic.
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