Device Enables Multiple Patients To Use One Ventilator

 

Safe Flight Instrument has developed a device that enables a single ventilator to be used by four patients simultaneously, the prototype of which is undergoing approval under the emergency-use authorization for use by hospitals. Called the Quad/Vent Splitter, the device was developed by Michael Lambton, a mechanical design engineer for the manufacturer of aviation safety and flight performance systems.

Using 3-D printing, the product is designed with four independent ports that can be stopped using tethered splitter plugs, permitting a two-, three-, or four-way configuration. Safe Flight said pending EUA approval, it will deliver the products to hospitals that have been participating in trials of it and make the design available under license to companies with more extensive additive manufacturing capabilities.

The hope is that the Quad/Vent Splitter will compensate for the lack of availability of ventilators that are being used to treat patients during the pandemic. Lambton came up with the design after speaking with a relative who is a medical professional working on the front lines of the Covid-19 crisis.

“Having both the technical ability and support from Safe Flight made me feel as though it was my obligation to contribute in any way I could,” he said. “The company’s ability to rapidly reconfigure its people and processes to tackle this dynamic problem has been nothing short of inspiring.”

Share:

Author: `