A breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in under a week.
The device delivers a steady stream of oxygen and air to patients who are struggling to breathe and can be used on standard wards, unlike ventilation, which requires patients to have an invasive procedure and sedation in an intensive care unit.
University College London engineers worked with clinicians at UCLH and Mercedes Formula One to build the device, which delivers oxygen to the lungs without needing a ventilator.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices are already used in hospitals but are in short supply.
Engineers from UCL and doctors at University College London hospital (UCLH) developed the device, which is claimed to be an improvement on existing Cpap systems, with Mercedes Formula One in less than 100 hours from first meeting to first production model. The device has been approved by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
“These devices will help to save lives by ensuring that ventilators, a limited resource, are used only for the most severely ill,” said Prof Mervyn Singer, a UCLH critical care consultant who worked on the design.
“While they will be tested at UCLH first, we hope they will make a real difference to hospitals across the UK by reducing demand on intensive care staff and beds, as well as helping patients recover without the need for more invasive ventilation.”
Cpap machines are used routinely in UK hospitals to support patients with breathing difficulties on wards or at home, but the equipment is in short supply. The devices use positive pressure to send a blend of air and oxygen into the mouth and hose at a steady rate, thereby boosting the amount of oxygen that enters the lungs.
Professor Tim Baker of UCL said a process that can take years had been reduced to a matter of days, explaining that the team had worked “all hours” to disassemble and analyze an existing device before using computer simulations to “create a state-of-the-art version suited to mass production.”
Following clinical trials, Mercedes and other F1 teams could produce up to 1,000 of the devices per day.
Some experts have raised concerns that using CPAP machines may put hospital workers at risk by creating a mist of droplets containing the virus. But Britain’s National Health Service has recommended the devices be used to treat coronavirus patients, saying the risk of infection is low so long as staff wear personal protective equipment.
The consortium said it would start production this week, and that it expects to receive prompt regulatory approval following a final audit. F1 teams working on the project include McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Renault Sport Racing and Williams.
Last week, vacuum cleaner maker Dyson said it had designed a new ventilator to treat coronavirus patients. It plans to make 10,000 of the devices for the UK government and donate 5,000 to the global effort.
