Mar 31, 2020 07:00:00

What is the “respirator for mass production” that is being developed with the spread of the new coronavirus infection?

Due to the new coronavirus infection, the number of which is increasing around the world, medical equipment such as artificial respirators are also required in large quantities. For this reason, not only medical equipment manufacturers, but also electrical equipment manufacturers

Dyson and automakers Ford and others are producing respirators at the request of the government. A research team including Cristiano Galbiati, a physics professor at Princeton University, proposed `` Mechanical Ventilator Milano (MVM), '' which focuses on efficient production of respirators for which mass production is urgently needed. I am.

Mechanical Ventilator Milano (MVM): A Novel Mechanical Ventilator Designed for Mass Scale Production in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemics
https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.10405

Physicists unveil new simplified ventilator for COVID-19 patients – Physics World
https://physicsworld.com/a/physicists-unveil-new-simplified-ventilator-for-covid-19-patients/

Severely affected patients with the new type of coronavirus infection develop pneumonia, which requires a ventilator to pump oxygen into the lungs and remove exhaled carbon dioxide. The ventilator also needs to be able to automatically adjust the pressure and amount of oxygen supplied to the patient's natural breathing.

Research team of Garubiati Mr. et al., Began working on the ventilator of design from March 19, 2020, only on March 23, 2020 after four days (PDF file) standards of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency the Meet respirator, designed MVM. The MVM is based on a ventilator designed by Roger Manly of Westminster Hospital in 1961 , 'The design is basic, but it is very reliable,' said Garbiati. States.

The image below is a respirator designed by Roger Manly in 1961.

The image below is a 3D model of MVM designed by Galbiati. According to Galviati, the MVM is characterized by its compact size and fewer components than most ventilators on the market. Due to its small size and few parts, it is estimated that mass production will be easy.

MVM controls the pressure of oxygen in the lungs of the patient with two vent valves, each controlling the highest and lowest pressure. Although MVM can control oxygen pressure, it cannot control the amount of oxygen in a patient's lungs. 'I don't know whether controlling treatment for both oxygen pressure and oxygen content in the lungs is strictly necessary for treatment, but MVM is increasingly being used in areas with a rapidly growing number of infected people, such as Italy.' It can be a life-saving measure. '

'I'm not sure what is really needed, but I can say that there are still a lot of patients who can't get any treatment. Is worth it, 'said Galbiati.

After conducting an MVM operation test on March 20, 2020, Galviati et al.'S research team shared a website for scientists and medical professionals to review, improve, and speed up the implementation process. A paper describing the design and functions of MVM has been published on

arXiv . This has brought MVM support from Arthur MacDonald , a 2015 Nobel Laureate in Physics, the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in the United States, and the European Institute for Nuclear Research in Switzerland.

As MVM is progressing toward practical use, the number of countries setting outgoing restrictions to prevent virus infection is increasing, and `` whether or not it can produce a respirator really fast enough '' is raised as a problem You. 'I don't know the answer yet, but many highly motivated contributors are still working on bringing MVM to practical use,' said McDonald.

Prototype production of the MVM will begin around March 28, 2020, and is expected to be introduced to hospitals as soon as possible.