EcoVent: a low-cost respiratory ventilator solution in response to COVID19

Background

As the number of coronavirus cases grow on a global scale, the demand for medical personnel and equipment has dramatically escalated. In the United States, delayed safety measures and social distancing practices in major cities such as New York and New Orleans have put hospitals at risk of exceeding patient capacity. As expected, many hospitals have reported inadequate PPE supplies, personal protective equipment that encompasses gloves, masks, gowns, respirators and ventilators. Lack of PPE supplies significantly obstruct medical professionals from treating patients, in addition to risking their own personal health. Ventilators in particular, are vital in the treatment of patients that suffer severely from COVID-19. Unfortunately however, the supply of this critical piece of equipment is sorely lacking.

What’s so harmful about COVID-19?

The COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) is typically transmitted through the respiratory droplets of infected individuals. Individuals in the vicinity of the COVID-19 virus inhale these droplets, allowing for the virus to enter the body and propagate. People with weak or compromised immune systems may not be able to eliminate the virus, allowing it to further spread to various parts of the body and impair organ function. The lungs are particularly susceptible to infection due to the presence of alveoli, which transmit oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and the bloodstream. Alveoli in the lungs are covered in ACE2 receptors, an enzyme that COVID-19 requires in order to penetrate the cell. White blood cells are produced to fight the virus, which may result in the lungs being inflamed, very similar to the symptoms of pneumonia.

As a result of this, patients often develop coughs, fevers, and shortness of breath. More consequential cases of this reaction to the virus leads to patients developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a condition where large amounts of fluid (composed of destroyed white blood cells and plasma proteins) collects in the lungs; lethally impairing oxygen flow throughout the body.

What is a ventilator? Why do we need them?

Ventilators, also known as respirators, are devices that mechanically move air in and out of the lungs. Ventilators are typically made up of a combination of a power source, gas delivery control, sensors to monitor oxygen flow/volume, filters, and safety controls. The “iron lung”, which many consider to be one of the earliest versions of the mechanical ventilator was widely used for Polio patients; through various technological advancements through the the 20th century, ventilators gained expanded usage in the treatment of such illnesses and conditions as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among others. A typical healthy individual has a breathing rate of around 15 breaths per minute. A patient suffering from COVID-19 may experience a vastly increased breathing rate of 28 or more breaths per minute, indicating that the patient may have respiratory failure. Ventilators can be used to assist COVID-19 patients that are suffering from impaired breathing and ARDS by delivering clean air and oxygen into a patient’s lungs through the use of a tube attached to the patient’s mouth, nose, or trachea. In addition, the ventilator also maintains positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) in the lungs, which prevents lung collapse. In cases where patients develop ARDS, patients may need ventilator assistance for weeks. For many patients with severe coronavirus symptoms, ventilators are essential for effective treatment.

Kroleo’s Solution

William Li, a world renowned Harvard-trained physician stated “When there are huge numbers of patients flooding into ICU and they each require a ventilator, most medical centers will not have enough to meet the overwhelming need.” In addition to there being a shortage in ventilator supplies, conventional ventilators are expensive to produce/purchase, and require extensive training to use effectively. The COVID-19 virus is a time-sensitive issue; the current lack of a low-cost, easy-to-use, rapidly deployable solution is resulting in preventable loss of life on a global scale. In response to this epidemic, the team at Kroleo has developed a safe, low-cost cost ventilator by leveraging the team’s extensive experience and demonstrable track record of success with 3D printing, rapid prototyping, and manufacturing. This ventilator will utilize 3D printed parts, and off-the-shelf sensors and fluid conveyance materials to deliver a solution under $500.

EcoVent Overview

https://www.slideshare.net/secret/CBk4OcaKEBOe9E

The EcoVent is an Assist-Control(AC) ventilator that operates with pressure control. Essentially, this means that the ventilator will deliver a set tidal volume VT ( the amount of air that is delivered and expelled from the lungs for each ventilation cycle) to the patient, regardless of the patient’s ventilatory demand. In the EcoVent, a centrifugal blower delivers air to a pressure sensor and microcontroller unit that will also monitor the patient’s breathing and regulate the tidal volume. The air travels through a series of tubes and is enriched with oxygen via an external oxygen supply and moisture via an HMD humidifier before being delivered to the patient via an inhalation/respirator tube. The air exhaled by the patient will travel through a separate inhalation hose, passing through a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter out to the environment. A Positive End Expiratory Pressure (PEEP) valve is also attached to this exhalation hose helps maintain volume in the patient’s lung, ensuring that the lung does not not collapse. A housing unit containing a microcontroller and a series of buttons and knobs will allow the ventilator operators the ability to adjust the ventilatory rate and pressure support setting.

With that said, we have launched a Gofundme campaign to raise necessary working capital to streamline this effort. The funds raised from this campaign will be allocated towards the following:

• Bring the price point for each ventilator into the $200- $300 dollar range by upgrading our manufacturing facility and streamlining our manufacturing processes
• Hire COVID-19 displaced workers to help us build our ventilators
• Manufacture and build our first batch of ventilators to be delivered to the most severely affected areas of COVID-19.

The struggle against COVID-19 is a global effort, and we need all the help and support we can get in this fight. Please take the time to donate and share this with people you think would be willing to support this cause.

Contributions made by Alex Yu