A low‐cost field ventilator: An urgent global need

Abstract

Modern ventilators are increasingly compact and able to deliver a wide range of ventilator modes and sophisticated monitoring capabilities. However, the global availability of ventilators is woefully short of demand. Data on intensive care units (ICUs), a proxy measure for hospital ventilator capacity in low and middle‐income countries (LMIC's), suggest that capacity is extremely limited where it exists at all. In LMIC's, the four most common indications for mechanical ventilation (MV) in ICUs are post‐surgical care, sepsis, trauma, and maternal peripartum or neonatal complications. A significant majority of these cases can be managed with intervention involving a short course of MV. Widespread and timely access to MV can thus effectively be used to help patients in these settings and improve outcomes. This paper implores this need and highlights the requirements for a low‐cost ventilator or a respiratory support device.

Open-Source Hardware May Address the Shortage in Medical Devices for Patients with Low-Income and Chronic Respiratory Diseases in Low-Resource Countries

“…Ideally, medical experts are involved in the design and the evaluation of the devices, first on the bench and subsequently in patients. For example, during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemics, when the lack of available mechanical ventilators was an important problem worldwide [63,64], a considerable number of low-cost, simple ventilator projects were published [58]; however, Discomfort scoring (Visual Analog Scale) in healthy volunteers subjected to obstructive-restrictive loaded breathing when unsupported and when supported by the prototype and Lumis 150 ventilators. Reprinted with permission from Ref.…”

“…Ideally, medical experts are involved in the design and the evaluation of the devices, first on the bench and subsequently in patients. For example, during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemics, when the lack of available mechanical ventilators was an important problem worldwide [63,64], a considerable number of low-cost, simple ventilator projects were published [58]; however, most of these projects presented the technical design with no or only with minor realistic testing in patient models, and only an exceptional minority were tested in vivo either in realistic animal models (e.g., porcine acute lung injury) or in patients. These devices provided a good open-source foundation for developing fully functional and regulated ventilators but needed additional work to make them available for anything other than an emergency.…”

Respiratory distress syndrome management in resource limited settings—Current evidence and opportunities in 2022

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of, and need for MV generated awareness of its necessity in LMICs among patient populations outside of the neonatal period (156)(157)(158). The pandemic also sparked the production of more basic, compact, and affordable MV devices by academic institutions and industry (159)(160)(161). The increased access to, and availability of MV in some centers may increase its use in newborn respiratory support which should be done with caution.…”

A review of neurological health disparities in Peru

“…The disparity gap between HICs and LMICs has widened further due to the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing the need to better understand neurological disparities in order to appropriately guide public policies and allocate financial resources of the Ministry of Health. For example, LMICs have faced shortages of essential medical resources needed to treat COVID-19 such as ventilators and intensive care unit (ICU) beds that HICs have a greater capacity to access and afford ( 13 ). Such shortages have overburdened the healthcare infrastructures of these affected nations, thereby leading to inabilities to adequately treat other diseases, including those with neurological etiologies.…”