`` Project to develop ventilator with open source '' appeared as a new coronavirus countermeasure

If the new type of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) becomes severe, bronchitis and pneumonia may be complicated and respiratory failure may occur. Since the number of COVID-19 patients is expected to increase, the number of respirators used in medical practice is expected to be insufficient, and volunteers have released various ventilator designs in open source.

People Are Trying to Make DIY Ventilators to Meet Coronavirus Demand-VICE
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5dm4mb/people-are-trying-to-make-diy-ventilators-to-meet-coronavirus-demand

With the spread of COVID-19, the demand for respirators has risen sharply, and shortages of respirators have become a problem in various places. In a conference call on March 16, 2020, President Donald Trump of the United States said, `` I want all equipment such as masks and respirators to be obtained by myself '', medical care including respirators He called on the Governor to stay out of the US government to secure equipment.

In response to the shortage of ventilators, open-source ventilators designed and developed have been released. .

The following open source ventilator released on GitHub modifies the CPAP device used for treatment of sleep apnea syndrome and controls it with a microcomputer board Arduino Nano . The piece worn in the mouth during use can be output with a 3D printer, and it is equipped with a ventilator that diverted a medical mask filter.

jcl5m1 / ventilator: Low-Cost Open Source Ventilator
https://github.com/jcl5m1/ventilator

In addition, Julian Botta, who attends Johns Hopkins University, has published the specifications for 'simple open source ventilator' on Google Docs . This specification divides the ventilator into three parts: hardware, electronic board, and software, and summarizes how the ventilator used in COVID-19 is designed. The basic structure is the same as the Arduino Nano-controlled ventilator described above, but Botta adds sensors and feedback to warn of malfunctions and oxygen flow errors.

In addition, GitLab has released design data for an open source ventilator called 'OpenLung'. This is a device that uses a hand-operated respirator called a ' bag valve mask '. It has the advantage of being able to mass-produce because of its simple structure.

Trevor Smale / Open Source Ventilator-OpenLung BVM VentilatorGitLab
https://gitlab.com/TrevorSmale/OSV-OpenLung/-/starrers

Of course, these devices have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the project description states that 'I want trained individuals to set up the appropriate equipment and receive specialized medical care.' . It is difficult for these open source ventilators to get FDA approval, and it is sometimes difficult for hospitals to use non-FDA-approved ventilators as an alternative.

Gui Cavalcanti, the founder of Open Source Ventilator, a project that develops open source medical equipment centered on Facebook, has abandoned ventilator design due to lack of approval from regulatory authorities and hospitals. 'We should focus on the development of equipment needed for public health, such as masks and gloves,' he said, working with distilleries and processors to produce hand sanitizers.

Still, Cavalcanti said, 'The open source medical device development movement is useful for people who do not have access to high-quality medical care due to geographical conditions and the capacity of the medical site,' 'A pandemic can be transmitted anywhere. That is not to be discriminated against. If you do not treat everyone reliably, the infection will continue to spread. '