Browsing by Subject "Ventilator Sharing"

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    The ethical dilemma of ventilator sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (International Society of Global Health, 2020-10-08) Bhatt, Harshil U.; Singh, Sandeep; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Ventilator sharing, an ethically challenging and difficult decision for the healthcare providers to make, has emerged due to scarce medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare professionals find themselves tangled in the ethical complexity of ventilator sharing at every step – selecting patients, maintaining patient privacy, using appropriate ventilator settings, and avoiding complications. It becomes hard to morally answer questions related to ventilator sharing due to a lack of scientific research in this regard.
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    A novel inline PEEP valve design for differential multi-ventilation
    (Elsevier, 2020-07-10) Bunting, Leonard; Roy, Steven; Pinson, Hannah; Greensweig, Tobin; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background: Ventilator sharing is one option to emergently increase ventilator capacity during a crisis but has been criticized for its inability to adjust for individual patient needs. Newer ventilator sharing designs use valves and restrictors to control pressures for each patient. A key component of these designs is an inline Positive End Expiratory Pressure (PEEP) Valve but these are not readily available. Creating an inline PEEP valve by converting a standard bag-valve-mask PEEP valve is possible with the addition of a 3D printer collar. Methods: This was a feasibility study assessing the performance and safety of a method for converting a standard PEEP valve into an inline PEEP valve. A collar was designed and printed that covers the exhaust ports of the valve and returns exhaled gases to the ventilator. Results The collar piece was simple to print and easily assembled with the standard PEEP valve. In bench testing it successfully created differential pressures in 2 simulated expiratory limbs without leaking to the atmosphere at pressures greater than 60 cm of H2O. Conclusion: Our novel inline PEEP valve design shows promise as an option for building a safer ventilator sharing system.