HealthDay Reports: Cheap, Effective Ventilator Made From Ambulance 'Resuscitation Bags'
A new low-cost ventilator creation made with resuscitation bags could help with the shortage of ventilators the country faces amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Cheap, Effective Ventilator Made From Ambulance 'Resuscitation Bags'
MONDAY, April 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- With a sudden need for more ventilators due to the coronavirus pandemic, researchers have been busy trying to come up with alternatives to a standard ventilator.
Engineers from Georgia Tech and Emory University in Atlanta think they may have developed such a device. They've created a simple, low-cost ventilator that builds on the widely used resuscitation bags found in ambulances and emergency departments everywhere.
"The COVID-19 infection has an alarmingly high rate of respiratory distress associated with it, especially in certain vulnerable populations. The need for critical care beds, which are beds with ventilators, is acute, and health systems are not scaled up for the number of patients that will need mechanical ventilation support in this country and globally," explained Susan Margulies, chair of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.