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Overcoming supply disruptions during pandemics by utilizing found hardware for open source gentle ventilation
S Oberloier1, N Gallup2, J M Pearce3
1Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA.
Abstract:
This article details the design of an open source emergency gentle ventilator (gentle-vent) framework that can be used in periods of scarcity. Although it is not a medical device, the system utilizes a wide range of commonly-available components that are combined using basic electronics skills to achieve the desired performance. The main function of the gentle-vent is to generate a calibrated pressure wave at the pump to provide support to the patient's breathing. Each gentle-vent permutation was tested using a DIY manometer as it would be utilized in the field in low-resource settings and validated with an open source VentMon. The most rudimentary implementation costs less than $40.
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