A low cost, high performance emergency ventilator to help patients with coronavirus has been designed by a team at Imperial College London.
The ventilator, called JamVent, has been designed by a team of Bioengineers and medics so that it doesn't rely on specialist parts, but can perform the demanding tasks necessary for treating patients with COVID-19.
The device could help offer a solution to ventilator shortages worldwide, particularly for health services in developing countries.
The team have made the design freely available for manufacturers and health service around the world to download to help them in the fight against coronavirus.
Testing of the prototype has shown that it can perform to MHRA specifications and can carry out the critical functions of ICU ventilators for COVID-19 patients.
The team are working with UK-based manufacturers RPD and TestWorks, as well as groups in the USA, Australia and South America, to produce assembly-line prototypes in early May, and will seek approval from regulatory bodies, including the UK's MHRA, and the USA's FDA, for use in clinical settings.
The project is one of the first to receive funding from Imperial's COVID-19 Response Fund - which is backed by hundreds of alumni and friends.
The team is now looking for donors and healthcare providers to take the JamVent ventilator into full-scale production so it can help medics on the frontline as they battle the pandemic.
Overwhelming global need for ventilators
The project was started by Imperial medic Dr Jakob Mathiszig-Lee, who was treating COVID-19 patients at the Royal Brompton hospital and watching the tragedy unfold around the world and recognised there would be an urgent, overwhelming need for ventilators worldwide.
He contacted researchers at Imperial's Department of Bioengineering and the team have worked flat-out since to develop the ventilator design.
Dr Mathiszig-Lee said: "I followed the outbreak closely as it grew in Wuhan and then Lombardy.
"Many of my colleagues had friends or family working in the region and listening to their stories I knew there would be a global need for ventilators and reached out to colleagues in the Department of Bioengineering.
"Working in intensive care, treating these patients, I know first hand how difficult they can be to ventilate and it's become increasingly clear to me that simple bag squeezers just aren't up to what's needed.
"The progress we've made is outstanding and we're meeting every standard we've tested against.
