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NVIDIA Chief Scientist Bill Dally developed a pulmonary ventilator, in an open source project, to assist in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in intensive care units (ICUs) and with severe respiratory problems. The invention comes at a good time, since in the global pandemic of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), life-saving equipment is scarce.
In addition to its easy assembly, the greatest advantage of this respirator is its total cost, around US $ 400 (equivalent to R $ 2,200). Its cost makes the model a much more affordable alternative than traditional fans, which are in the range of US $ 20,000 (approximately R $ 110,000) or more.
Designed by Dally, the respirator called the OP-Vent is simple and basically has only two core components: a solenoid valve and a microcontroller. The project can be assembled in just five minutes and is small enough to be transported.
Dally’s invention also requires fewer parts and consumes less energy than the equally simple designs that adapt the manual breathing bags used by paramedics in response to emergencies.
Now, the next step in the project is to obtain authorization from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the federal agency of the United States, for use in humans. This license must be granted under the agency’s Emergency Use Authorization program for equipment in the treatment of COVID-19. When released, the equipment can be produced on a large scale.
Do you want to see the machine in action? Watch the video, in English, of the respirator working:
Source: TechCrunch
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