Cambridge engineers working on new design of iron lung
Cambridge engineers are part of a group who are looking to redesign a life-saving piece of medical equipment to fight Covid-19.
The iron lung was a permanent fixture in hospitals throughout the world in the 20th century. It was used to treat polio victims and people with other respiratory illnesses.
Also known as a negative pressure ventilator, it uses pressurised cylinders to create a vacuum to push oxygen into a patient's lungs.
Now engineers from Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group have teamed up with the University of Warwick and medical experts to reinvent the machine. They hope it will be an alternative to the ventilators which the NHS is currently short of.
ITV News has reported how the region's Formula One Teams have united to produce them.
The group says the new model is "a cutting-edge reinvention of the archetypal iron lung, a Negative Pressure Ventilator (NPV), which is non-invasive and allows the patient to remain conscious throughout treatment."
In a statement on the firm's website it says:
"Conventional, modern Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilators (IPPV) require the patient to be intubated via their windpipes, which means they have to be sedated, and sometimes even paralysed, while their chest is squeezed to introduce and remove air into their lungs.
It also says the machine would be able to be used on non specialist wards, freeing up intensive care beds.
"“This is one of a number of projects we are involved in following the government’s call to industry for support in the battle against Covid-19 and we are incredibly proud that our engineering talent is being put to such important use,”
The consorium is aiming to produce around 5,000 devices every week
“Clearly there is still long way to go but I am very excited about the potential of the Exovent product. It has so many positive attributes in terms of cost, ease of production and application, and at the same time doesn’t use any of the same parts that are being used in the production of the much needed positive pressure ventilators,”said Patrick.
The Exovent concept is also supported by WMG at the University of Warwick and representatives from Imperial NHS Trust and The Royal National Throat Nose and Ear hospital. Two leading intensive care units have agreed to trial the prototype ventilator support devices
“We are delighted to be working with exovent to help scale up their non-invasive ventilator from prototype to volume manufacturing. Our engineers and researchers are collaborating with the exovent team on the design, engineering, component sourcing and assembly of the ventilator. I am extremely proud of the unstinting and dedicated efforts of our research team... and glad that we are able to apply our expertise to this important project.”
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