1st prototype running! Easily manufactured, low-cost ventilator prototype for COVID-19 patients

[@sandydali699]

This is very impressive. This the kind of innovation and thinking that will keep this country running.

[@mareknetzel]

This is so uplifting to see how we can turn from being profit oriented to humanity oriented in the times of crisis and use our potential make a difference. You guys are great!

[@juanpablomarcial7685]

they gonna blowup lungs with that pressure

[@Neo7CNC]

Great work everyone! Keep going

[@garethmorgan3665]

Really inspiring guys. Humanity at it's best :-)

[@333481372]

I like your design well done!

[@Hudsonbaycoldplunge]

Great work guys!

[@nevillecreativitymentor]

Fantastic work ... getting it up and running. I guess your next step would be adding a Uno type of computer and control the speed In and Out etc ... I am fairly sure you guys would have thought about this ...but I did not see it on the crank arm ... by adding a few extra holes on the crank arm with a quick connect disconnect you could change the stroke length mechanically , the turnbuckle push rod could compensate for fine tuning the length and adding a speed controller could give you precise and fully controllable stroke length and speed. I have designed the mentioned idea on sketchup ... well ...i too was designing a similar crank based concept ! :) ..but no means of getting it done ...so oops there.

[@PyxtonStudios]

The cage that holds the bag should be movable on the Z axis using a stepper motor to allow the machine to control the volume according to the patient's needs. Just half of the cage should be movable with the bag attached to the bottom part. However, that's a great design!

[@aomanchutube]

I'm thinking that some of these linkages could be 3d printed. Also that sections of the ventilator could be one piece plastic casts. Separating the regulators from the other sections might help in a "divide and conquer" type of way.

[@TeknicInc]

Thanks, appreciate the input. We’re looking into that. Almost certainly, the main brackets will be injection molded for speed of production.

[@MrAbeAllen]

nice work!

[@TeknicInc]

Thank you!

[@Kesh285]

This is amazing. Thanks for working on this and especially making this opensource. How do you plan to channel out expiratory air?

[@TeknicInc]

Thank you Keshawa. There are a variety of ways to mitigate the risk of expired air. The staff running the device will have to decide what will work the best for them under their specific circumstances.

[@kistuszek]

Can be substituted via tensile stress bearing structure, no joints no rods no sleves just a rope.

[@agmiddles]

Does it have sensors for airflow / pressure, etc.? If this is on a raspberry pi then you could monitor the necessary measurements and adjust the rate including a pause on the cycle if necessary. Keep up the work.

[@TeknicInc]

Thank you for your feedback and support. The design does not currently have sensors for airflow or pressure. We did this to limit the complexity (with its associated testing load and time), cost, and build time. A micro-controller or single-board computer would be a great addition if we had more time, but we thought it was important to reduce electronics and software where possible. There are also supply chain considerations; it’s quite possible that there will be the need for tens of thousands (or more) of new ventilators within the next 2-3 weeks. In standard (higher-end) ventilators, it's important to have these capabilities (and ideally, we would be able to incorporate them as well). This is more of a crude, emergency design specifically for patients that do not have access to a more sophisticated ventilator (i.e. when the options are either no ventilation or medical personal is required to administer BVM one patient at a time). All of that said, we plan to include a valve that will pop open on over-pressure. Additionally, there will be a mechanism to adjust stroke per machine. This will allow for varied air volume (indirectly varying pressure) and can be monitored by a medical professional.

[@agmiddles]

@@TeknicInc Very cool. I love the ingenuity of this. I think we have to get everyone working on different designs to maximize the entire gamet of options. I've put together a different design that uses solenoid valves and ready and available parts from a major manufacturer. Perhaps you're engineers might be able to have a look at it and offer some input or see if it's another viable option to add to the mix.

[@vinaybhaskarchandratre7762]

Do think that the ambu bag is strong enough to work 24/7 ?

[@suneilnevgi8386]

Yiu are innovative 😀💪

[@suneilnevgi8386]

Pl make many more like these . Make still simpler ones in more detail . Also suggest part purchase links . 😀👍👍

[@DanKolis]

Is your ongoing work going to be synched on reddit or here or not at all. Seems there is utility to straddle both slightly probably, utube video etc easily inderstood. Check there when you are able to. Regards Dan

[@VinodKumar-xc9kx]

Don't you have to sense the negative pressure when the patient tries to breath in and then pump the air? Is that part coming up? I am trying to find an appropriate air flow sensor. If someone knows one, Please comment.

[@TeknicInc]

Thank you for your feedback and suggestions. In standard (higher-end) ventilators, it's important to have these capabilities (and ideally, we would be able to incorporate them as well). This is more of a crude, emergency design specifically for patients that do not have access to a more sophisticated ventilator (i.e. when the options are either no ventilation or medical personal is required to administer BVM one patient at a time). To reduce manufacturing time, cost, and complexity, we had to leave out certain functions. All of that said, the University of Minnesota team is handling this concern. We plan to include a valve that will pop open on over-pressure. Additionally, there will be a mechanism to adjust stroke per machine. This will allow for varied air volume (indirectly varying pressure) and can be monitored and adjusted by a medical professional.

[@rdavit]

Outstanding! Do you have a parts list/cad files in .dxf format that can be shared? Many hobbyists with CNC mills, 3D printers can help.

[@TeknicInc]

Details/plans are available here on Reddit (although this is an older version - we are improving the design on a continuous basis): www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalEngineering/comments/fm72qm/easily_manufactured_open_source_lowcost/ Thank you for your support!

[@willafayescalicas7199]

Inherent to this design is that when you increase the rate you increase the pressure also...that is dangerous.

[@satxsatxsatx]

what what is max RPM so I can look for a cheap gear motor?

[@TeknicInc]

The spec that we are building to is ~8-33 cycles per minute at the output (or at the plunger).

[@rdavit]

Look at Winshield Wiper motors....12vDC, lots of torque

[@mainaTheMaker]

your model is hard to archive I:E ratio which sometimes goes even up-to 1:4 but yours currently is 1:1 you must change your model to make a vent else you can make an air pump

[@bhaskerShah]

Any idea on how to change IE ratio ???

[@mainaTheMaker]

@@bhaskerShah year by changing the speed of breathing out

[@ziadomeish3829]

his poor lungs will explode during this huge volume pressure

[@svs4305]

If ventilators can be made with simple mechanisms like these at very cheap price, Then why existing ones are still in market

[@garyoreilly8934]

Is the full design of this going to be open sourced? I cant see where to download STL files, specs for motor, dimensiosn etc..

[@TeknicInc]

Details/plans are available here on Reddit (although this is an older version - we are improving the design on a continuous basis): www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalEngineering/comments/fm72qm/easily_manufactured_open_source_lowcost/

[@reneeceldesigns3965]

Nice idea but why is it so. Complicated. I'm just about to design simplified why of achieving the same thing, just with a wheel and a cam.

[@reneeceldesigns3965]

@Braze The Daze I'm not sure a pump for fish would supply enough air for a person. But I like your thinking

[@TeknicInc]

@@reneeceldesigns3965 Thank you, we welcome all ideas, designs, and constructive feedback.

[@OperationAllOut]

Patient will not die of corona, but with that pressure...

[@kjwcontact]

I wonder if, in a pinch (as we are in now) a 3d printer could be quickly retrofitted to supply the linear actuator, power supply, and control interface for this project. See video on this idea: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpzRgZtjnc9oj8U

[@wioswitchtoswitchdigitalpi2800]

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

[@bisayangmedyocutetv9112]

good maam/ sir im sherwin semitara from philippines you me help me to make this ventilator cause not my own for the patient of covid 19 to help them breath please help me please i do research on this or tips how to make it i can read book like your thesis please help me books for my reference

[@ghostedlastnite6521]

I have blue prints

[@bobhacker7356]

Hyper Ventilator!

[@Neodymigo]

Simple one made from plumbing parts here kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZq3h4RvorybpLs

[@MyIronman8]

thats way easyer

[@daidesign121]

The British have a much simpler, low cost with no moving parts ventilator. Your version is not viable.

[@salvatius]

Could you provide a link to watch it? Thanks!

[@ryanvanrensburg6073]

Yes.. What these guys have built is very cumbersome.. The idea is to have the ambu bag in a sealed box.. And have it inflated and deflated by changing the air pressure in the box.. And all you need is compressed air and solenoid valves..

[@karanbirsidhu5651]

Bad design! You will puncture someone's lungs!! You guys work in motion control industry but I am amazed you didn't even try implementing a trajectory to get the flow rate to be similar. Everything is about jumping onto an opportunity to make a name in the name of the world suffering.

[@hazmania]

What safety features are there? Cos if it was that easy they’d be doing them already! These machines need to have incredibly delicate pressure settings. Tbh, I don’t think I’d want to trust my lungs with that, if they go wrong & over inflate or deflate my lungs, any chance of recovery is obviously as dead as I’d be, and probably would be even if intubated.

[@sandydali699]

pro·to·type /ˈprōdəˌtīp/ Learn to pronounce noun: prototype; plural noun: prototypes a first, typical or preliminary model of something, especially a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied. "the firm is testing a prototype of the weapon"

[@TeknicInc]

Hi Annie Haz - These ventilators are designed to be used under very specific circumstances, i.e., where manual ventilation (eg BVM) is not contraindicated. The expectation is that these ventilators would be supervised by trained medical staff. The alternative is no ventilation at all (not good), or the same medical personnel is tied up administering the BVM one patient at a time. That's not going to be possible with the expected volume of patients or with the possible need to ventilate them 24/7. There will certainly be risk involved with the use of this device. Unfortunately, it will often be the lesser of two evils when it's used. Either use the machine or don't get ventilated at all. There is an expected near-term shortage of ventilators in the US alone that is expected to be, at a minimum, in the 10s of thousands. Standard ventilators cost upwards of $25,000 each and because of their complexity, require significant training to use. More important, there is no way they can be manufactured fast enough any price. As a side note, Teknic is not providing the medical expertise to this project, just volunteering help with the mechanical design, motor control, and sourcing. The University of Minnesota Department of Anesthesiology is the lead on the medical side. We trust their judgment on this. See the description in our first video for more information: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKGooqd9lpepiqs

[@hazmania]

Teknic Inc err, I know!

[@Targetmaster1066]

Grossly over engineered for the job it's doing - that massive crank, enormous bearing and linkage could just as easily, and at 10th the cost be done with "off the shelf" bicycle pedal crank and bearing.