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COVID 19: Manufacture of ventilators and other medical equipment

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
Here in the UK, there has been an overwhelming response to the Government’s request for ventilators with over 3,000 organisations and individuals responding to the call.


This concerted effort to mobilise the required number of ventilators, including but not limited to, ramping up production at existing ventilator manufacturers, sourcing alternative models and developing new, easy to manufacture models is rapidly gathering pace with the very latest position reported in today’s FT.


Currently, the NHS has access to 8,000 ventilators but it’s anticipated that some 30,000 units will be required in the coming weeks.


This then has been our national experience, but how are other nation states coping?

How are different countries addressing the supply of ventilators and other essential medical equipment? What's been the international experience? 


May this global crisis inspire us all to reach out and discover how our shared experience and understanding can benefit all our communities.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts and any experiences you may have on this?
Parents
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Simplistic CPAP / BiPAP / APAP ventilators being proposed by enthusiastic engineers are useless for anything but Ambulanant use for those lightly affected.

    Many such devices costing less than $500 are in regular use in USA and Europe by patients for sleep related apnoea.


    Mechanical ventilators that Force Oxygen rich air into collapsed lungs ARE WHAT THE NHS needs.to augment the poor stock of 8000 medical grade Ventilators. NOT biPAP/ PAP simple copies.

    Such designs have to provide for pressure regulations and monitoring that these simplistic devices just cannot provide.


    Please bring this to the attention of those who go down the wrong alley.


    Elon Musk DONATEd 1000 such ineffectual ventilators that do not solve the problem


    IET Engineers and Fellows should consult PROFESSIONAL VENTILATOR DESIGN / USE AND REPAIR Manuals to discover a good reproducible design that can be copied by professional engineering parts  manufacturers.

    Members could provide precision Assembly & Test / Commissioning.

    Re furbishment should only be attempted by qualified companies able to respond to sanitisation / Isolation requirements.


Reply
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Simplistic CPAP / BiPAP / APAP ventilators being proposed by enthusiastic engineers are useless for anything but Ambulanant use for those lightly affected.

    Many such devices costing less than $500 are in regular use in USA and Europe by patients for sleep related apnoea.


    Mechanical ventilators that Force Oxygen rich air into collapsed lungs ARE WHAT THE NHS needs.to augment the poor stock of 8000 medical grade Ventilators. NOT biPAP/ PAP simple copies.

    Such designs have to provide for pressure regulations and monitoring that these simplistic devices just cannot provide.


    Please bring this to the attention of those who go down the wrong alley.


    Elon Musk DONATEd 1000 such ineffectual ventilators that do not solve the problem


    IET Engineers and Fellows should consult PROFESSIONAL VENTILATOR DESIGN / USE AND REPAIR Manuals to discover a good reproducible design that can be copied by professional engineering parts  manufacturers.

    Members could provide precision Assembly & Test / Commissioning.

    Re furbishment should only be attempted by qualified companies able to respond to sanitisation / Isolation requirements.


Children
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