Manual Resuscitator-Based Emergency Ventilator System

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NU 2020-113

INVENTORS
Mozziyar Etemadi*
William Fienup
Andrew Carak
James Heller
Patrick Hunt
Antonio Belton

SHORT DESCRIPTION
A manual resuscitator compression device that could function as an emergency ventilator

BACKGROUND
The wide spread of COVID-19 has created ventilator shortages that will reduce the ability of health systems to treat patients with the disease. The sudden and dramatic spread of the disease has created a need for new emergency ventilator designs that can be manufactured quickly and in large quantities. Manual resuscitator bags, while widely available at hospitals, are considered bridge therapy for acute short-term scenarios.  Using such resuscitators in a prolonged manner requires human capital and ensues fatigue for the user.  Emergency ventilator designs based off manual resuscitators usually employ servo or stepper motors that are more expensive, hard to source, and require complex controls.

ABSTRACT
A team from Northwestern and mHUB has developed a device based on widely available components that automatically compresses a manual resuscitator, enabling the resuscitator to be used for an extended period of time as an emergency ventilator.  The design is based on simple pneumatics and electronics that could be manufactured at a large scale more quickly than any existing design.  The design consists of ~$200 of components, far under the cost of other emergency ventilators under development and leverages the broad availability of  industrial pneumatic components.  It features a housing which holds a disposable manual resuscitator in place while an air cylinder moves a paddle which compresses the manual resuscitator against the housing.  Controls allow a user to set the mode of operation, respiratory rate, tidal volume, and inhalation to exhalation (I:E} ratio. The device is attached to standard hospital compressed air and electrical power.  Given the long history of industrial pneumatic component usage in other industries, parts are available at off-the-shelf quantities of tens of thousands per week. Summary Video

Upon licensing, a bill of materials, CAD Files,  Circuit Board Files, Assembly Instructions, User Guide and Testing Data will be provided.

APPLICATIONS  

• Respiratory virus epidemic response
• Low cost respiratory care stockpiles

ADVANTAGES  

• Uses lower cost and more readily available components
• Contains no microcontrollers or firmwear to control cost and increase reliability

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT
Prototype generated and benchtop testing in progress. This device has not been evaluated by the FDA.

IP STATUS
A provisional patent application has been filed.

INVENTOR CONTACT

Mozziyar Etemadi

Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Anesthesiology

(e) mozzi@northwestern.edu

INVO CONTACT FOR LICENSING

(e) INVOLicenseCompliance@northwestern.edu

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