RESCIUS-project: Responding to the ventilator surge capacity problem raised in the COVID-19 crisis setting by designing Individualized Shared Ventilation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic shared ventilation, two similar patients sharing a ventilator, was proposed as a solution for the ventilator surge capacity problem. We assembled a modified ventilator circuit, the ISV-circuit, that allows for individualization of the crucial ventilation parameters and tackles the problem of pairing patients. Still, individualization of ventilation volumes was challenging. Therefore, we designed a 3D-printed flow restrictor, allowing precise titration of the ventilation volumes, currently under patent evaluation. Our ISV-technology is already demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. This RESCIUS-project will focus on bringing the ISV-circuit to the market as a low-cost solution via a licensing deal with the industry and developing an ISV-protocol which will facilitates its clinical uptake. Our ISV-technology will be a daily solution in low-income countries and will be a preventive measure for high income countries when facing disaster circumstances such as terror, pandemic, or military conflicts.

Keywords:Shared Ventilation, individualization, surge capacity, ventilator

Disciplines:Intensive care anaesthesiology, Emergency medicine anaesthesiology, Medical intensive care