Proposal for a Low-cost High-fidelity ventilator for COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic situation has called for an urgent need for the development of low cost respiratory ventilators across the globe. Such ventilators must include functionalities to cater to the patients experiencing severe respiratory illnesses, such as ARDS, where lung compliance and patient breathing cycles are dynamic, and require an accurate and controllable ventilator design. A low cost ventilator design is presented here which offers essential pressure and volume control ventilator modes for critical patients while being cost-effective as compared to all other presently available commercial alternatives which provide similar functions. The presented design is currently in the conceptual stage, and is presented here to elicit feedback for further refinement, prototyping, medical approval and large scale manufacturing.