Development and evaluation of a mechanical ventilator-sharing system.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Critical Care Medicine
• Respiratory Therapy

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted critical shortages of mechanical ventilators.
• Alternative strategies for mechanical ventilation, including device sharing, were explored to meet increased demand.
• The need for systems to individualize patient ventilation and enable remote monitoring became apparent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and assess a ventilator-sharing system (VSS) using clinically available components for simultaneous ventilation of multiple patients.
• To develop and evaluate a ventilator monitoring system (VMS) for remote monitoring of pulmonary mechanics.
• To determine the feasibility and effectiveness of VSS and VMS in providing individualized mechanical ventilation.

Main Methods:

• Developed a ventilator-sharing system (VSS) and a ventilator monitoring system (VMS) using off-the-shelf components.
• Evaluated VSS and VMS in benchtop testing with two test lungs connected to a single ventilator.
• Assessed system performance in translational swine models simulating normal and impaired lung function.

Main Results:

• Benchtop testing demonstrated high precision and accuracy of VSS and VMS in delivering set ventilation parameters.
• Animal studies confirmed that VSS and VMS successfully delivered individualized mechanical ventilation within clinically acceptable limits.
• No statistically significant differences were found between target and measured ventilation values in animal models.

Conclusions:

• The VSS effectively ventilated multiple test lungs or animals with varying lung conditions.
• The VMS accurately displayed ventilation settings, parameters, and alarms.
• These systems offer a scalable solution for critical care ventilation during pandemics or mass casualty events, utilizing readily available and 3D-printed components.