Ventilator sharing device: Similar devices
When the COVID-19 pandemic first broke attention was focussed on a basic ‘ventilator splitter’ which was developed in the US. In response to this the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) issued a press release (March 26, 2020) on the concept of placing multiple patients on a single mechanical ventilator, highlighting their safety concerns with ‘current equipment’. These concerns were similar to those that informed the requirements specified by Professor Klein and Dr Patvardhan to the IfM, when they detailed the kind of ventilator sharing device they thought they may need in an emergency. The team have been tackling each of these concerns in this work, to enhance the safety in case this emergency response is needed.
Since the pandemic broke out, volunteer teams across the world have shared discussions and tests on a variety of different ventilator sharing setups. Over 30 of these volunteers, including the IfM, collaborated in an international effort, The Differential Multiventilator International Working Group which was started as a test setup built by a Belgium team led by Dr Matthias Mergeay, Dr Michiel Stiers and Dr Janssen. This effort resulted in the Belgian team’s co-ordinator, Hannah Pinson, leading the launch of an open source differential multiventilation guide, differentialmultivent.org.
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