As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ramp up at an alarming rate, the government has called for assistance in solving or mitigating the upcoming shortage of respiratory ventilators.

This ventilator design idea, started by the Medical Devices Center at the University of Minnesota and continued by Teknic engineers over the last day and a half is for an automated bag valve mask (BVM) ventilator.

PLEASE NOTE This design has not been sufficiently tested and even once it has been, the machine is meant to be used only by highly trained medical operators in emergency situations. Building and using one of these machines without proper training could cause serious harm or death. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BUILD AND USE THIS MACHINE ON YOUR OWN.

The BVM is commonly known as an “ambu bag” and they are very readily available. This ventilator design is one that automatically actuates a BVM, which otherwise would require the full attention of a nurse/tech. Obviously, given the current Coronavirus situation, medical staff is in high demand right now. The goals for this device are:

· Open source (so anyone can leverage the design)
· Easy to build
· Reliable
· Inexpensive
· Able to be ramp up production quickly
· Adjustable speed of ventilation
· Adjustable compression/stroke

There are some other ideas floating around the internet but many of them rely on reciprocating motion from the motor and that requires a more complex control system. Teknic motors have the capability of doing reciprocating motion, but to maximize the source of supply (and to minimize complexity), we thought it would be important to create a design that would work with uni-directional motion only.

To that end our design is able to function with any motor that is able to provide consistent (but adjustable) velocity in a single direction. In our concept we used one of our ClearPath-MCVC motors since it is easy to adjust its velocity with a simple dial and no separate electronics other than a power supply. However, any standard NEMA 23 or 34 motor with variable velocity control (and sufficient torque) would work well.

Teknic can provide a good deal of engineering and prototyping support for this project but we need more help. We are not in a position to manufacture, assemble or distribute a complete system like this (all of our manufacturing is specific to motor and drive production).

The help we need is:
· Manufacturers who can build this assembly at the required scale
· Medical professionals' advice on the usability of the concept and any advice on how to deploy this to hospitals
· Anyone that can provide information on any relevant FDA requirements

If you can help in any way, we’d appreciate it. Please comment below.

Stay safe!