Easy to make ventilators

I post this to share it with who ever cares. I believe it could be a solid way to create a good pulsating air supply for Corona Victims that need it. There are thousands of used vehicles in salvage yards, and new in the supply chain. Wiper motors are very reliable, and also modest in amp draw. No internal changes are needed, the control valve can remain compressed as though the pedal was pushed a bit. I will supply this to The Star tribune in hopes they run it, but feel free to send it to your paper as well. The issue is critical, and this solution is not beyond our ability.
Jim

Is this for DIY home use or for use in hospitals? Hospitals might want materials that are easier to sanitize than plywood and 2x4's, LOL.

(quoted from post at 20:02:51 03/28/20) Is this for DIY home use or for use in hospitals? Hospitals might want materials that are easier to sanitize than plywood and 2x4's, LOL.

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And.......we all know what PhD stands for Doctor!

It's called out of the box thinking.....of which has probably saved lives, made beau coo money or both ...... Just from ordinary people. I'd do a patent search asap. Could be feasible. Remember, that's just a pen on paper rough draft. Not necessarily the final product.

nothing like forcing old brake fluid that has leaked into the booster into your lungs

This guy is pretty sharp. He built a ventilator from off the shelf supplies. It s crude, but he s working at refining it

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oqRgISFuE0k

You know this is really creative and I applaud you for it. Obviously there might be some cleanliness and material compatibility hurtles.

I got to believe the 10 plus companies cranking up to do this already have supply lines ramping up and some already have the Mfg equipment and processes in place. It won?t be long and they will be stock piling these for the next Pandemic.

I suspect that is why GM got cold feet.

Just my 2 cents.

Paul

Please hire. Desperate.
Pour him a Drink.
Permanent head Damage.
Pizza hut Driver.

(;>))

Normal vehicle production is about 5 million a month worldwide. But not this month. All have wiper motors, most have vacuum boosters. I don?t think we have to use parts from junkyards

Well the reality is that the important ingredients are function, and availability. None would be used with brake fluid in it!!. And external sanitation could be made to happen with a garbage bag. Reality is less harsh than dying from lack of ability to breathe. I just tossed it into the air. Jim

The valving has to be mechanized also which doubles the complexity. They're not just poppet valves. Maybe a section of cylinder head and cam shaft and drive ect. Nothing off an AMC for me please.

Post Hole Digger.
Piled Higher and Deeper.

Jim,
Wouldn't you need a check valve at the vacuum line port vs plugging it to turn it into an air pump?

Wouldn't a plug just make the air move back and forth and really only be pushing the same air it pulls back?

Kudos! We need more tinker thinkers. All the brains in DC can't come up with anything.

I am fortunate that I have celebrity status at my local hospital ED. I don't need to worry about ventilator availability.

Jim thank you for the idea No one with enough common sense to come out of the rain would think you suggested a booster ruined with brake fluid. Pay no attention to those jealous of your PHD.

I like the idea. Very quickly we could have basic ventilators available to those in desperate need. If I came down with the dreadful disease, I'd be right grateful to use this simple machine as compared to waiting for months while the govt gets their act together with manufacturers. Heck, When one of our sons was experiencing a severe asthma attack years ago, I dragged in the gas welding hoses from the shop/garage and had him hold the torch handle close to his nose while I turned on the oxygen at a low level. According to my welding supplier, welding oxygen is even more pure than hospital oxygen. Son pulled through the attack when no other help was immediately available.

Jim, as to your idea, I think it is a great start. But don't the "official" ventilators have the ability to add oxygen to the air stream? Again, there are probably many low tech ways of doing just that.

Paul in MN

Jim, please don't take this as a "negative" to your creativity, but ventilators have a VERY complex and DELICATE job to do.

I don't claim to be an RT, but I've been around "vents" more than I care to remember because of the health issues of a couple of family members.

My late handicapped son was once on a vent for 6 weeks straight, and my wife or I were at his side nearly 24/7 during that time, and during several shorter events.

From what I learned, human lungs are very delicate, they have to be "pumped" by a very exact volume of blended "gas", and there's a lot of sensors/electronics/controls involved on a "vent" that make that happen.

There's a VERY fine balance between getting enough oxygen and CO2 exchange and tearing up the lung tissue, causing more damage and distress and fluid/blood in the lungs and death, and the technicians fine-tune the settings of the electronic controls quite often during the course of treatment.

Here's a quote from a medical site: "Lung injury can be an adverse consequence of mechanical ventilation. This injury is called ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) and can result in pulmonary edema, barotrauma, and worsening hypoxemia that can prolong mechanical ventilation, lead to multi-system organ dysfunction, and increase mortality. Thus, adopting a ventilator strategy that reduces VILI is an important goal in ventilatory management."

For more reading, GOOGLE "ventilator-induced lung injury".

Here's another thing I wonder about, who's going to set up and monitor all these proposed units AND care for the patient?

From what I have observed, typically every few hours, 24/7, a respiratory tech has to evaluate the patient and thread a LONG suction catheter down through the trach tube and suction mucus and fluids out from deep in the bronchial or lung area, or the patient will "drown". Typically, blood oxygen "sats" will slowly drop as the fluid builds up, then be higher for a while after the suction treatment, 'til the cycle repeats.

No matter how many "vents" are available you still need trained people and lots of them to keep the patients alive.

It's not like connecting a battery maintainer to a battery and going home for the night.

Also, I've read about "pairing" of patients on a "vent". As I understand this, they match 2 people that have similar lung volume, and other factors, then bring in the computer part of the "vent", which identically controls the other "valve box" part of the "vent", each patient has one of those.

Apparently NOT ideal, but has been made to work to some degree.

Any respiratory techs on here that can add to this or correct any errors in what I wrote?

"[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]<a href="https://rebelem.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ventilator-Allocation-Protocol.pdf">The issue is critical</a>, and this solution is not beyond our ability[/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]"

Agree.

I don't understand this "piling on" of anyone who dares point out a flaw or suggests and improvement that can be made to an "out of the box" idea. No idea is perfect in its first iteration. Other sets of eyes can find flaws and see where improvements can be made that the original designer may be blind to. Other sets of eyes may have knowledge and expertise that the original designer does not have.

There's no reason to be "discouraged" even if someone says your idea won't work at all, because it's quite possible that they know something you don't, and may well be right. Take the feedback for what it is and use it to improve your design.

And the rest of you, quit discouraging people from providing feedback. ALL feedback is useful.

AvE has the right attitude about it. He's open to suggestions for improvements. He's said it himself, his designs are as much his viewers' as they are his.

If anyone thinks a contrary opinion would discourage Jim then they haven't been around him very much. He doesn't act like a PhD.

Vanderbilt univ in Nashville is building units using the windshield wiper motor, plywood frame and a manually operated vent bagger

I'm sure that before we're through this, there will be a lot of makeshift ventilators in use. Either that or people will die for lack of same.

Since I have never seen a ventilator this approach loos awfully close to being able to use an air brake chamber off from semis or the air bag from the suspension. Both move air when pushed or pulled. The air bag could be used similar to a bellows on a forge or old blacksmith shop. Then the air could be regulated from there. The reason I mention the air bag is you could get more volume than maybe even put a regulator off from a main line to each patient thus would be able to serve possibly several at once. The volume could be controlled by several options one being the stroke of the air bag or the regulator at the individuals line.
With the brake chamber if using a parking model it could possibly move air with both stokes to make it so there could be a vacuum and a pressure or pressure both ways like the air bag could also.

What is the difference between a ventilator and a cpap machine? I have at least one maybe 2 old cpap machines. I'll bet everybody that uses one has a couple old ones.

The reason this country is so great is because of the people who think "outside the box". I applaud you all! I agree with President nnalert, "this country will be better because of this pandemic".

Bill

Well, if I had the option, I'd prefer someone hook me up to an actual medical ventilator and not something made up from the local auto scrapyard by Gyro Gearloose, but that's my choice. Meanwhile though, a PhD could be for anything from an engineer designing a device for a moon landing to a guy who teaches about Plato and his thoughts on a noisy neighbor in ancient Greece. Oh, who is Gyro Gearloose? Check out the link ..... and he didn't even have a bachelor's degree let alone a doctorate ....
Gyro Gearloose Explained ....

(quoted from post at 13:49:54 03/29/20) Well, if I had the option, I'd prefer someone hook me up to an actual medical ventilator and not something made up from the local auto scrapyard by Gyro Gearloose, but that's my choice. Meanwhile though, a PhD could be for anything from an engineer designing a device for a moon landing to a guy who teaches about Plato and his thoughts on a noisy neighbor in ancient Greece. Oh, who is Gyro Gearloose? Check out the link ..... and he didn't even have a bachelor's degree let alone a doctorate ....
Gyro Gearloose Explained ....

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Crazy Horse, it appears that you have missed the main point and the general situation. Perhaps you have been offline for awhile or maybe reading fake news. The situation is that there is a virus that causes many people to have to go on a ventilator in order to be kept alive. There are currently not enough ventilators for everyone who needs one to have access. So though you may prefer to be hooked up to a regular medical ventilator that may not be an option. This thread is about another option so that you may stay alive.