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OxyGEN: Open-Source AMBU Respirator

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Re: OxyGEN: Open-Source AMBU Respirator

#11

Post by ashes-of-sol »

m0zg wrote: post #10
psKama wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but it can't manage pressures during the other phases of ventilation (which are equally, or even more, important). Can you please elaborate on this? What pressures and what phases are involved? The author explicitly calls for help and input from people to make it more functional and easier to built. Maybe your concerns can be addressable and they would be helpful. In Italy doctors have to pick who to connect ventil…

> In Italy doctors have to pick who to connect ventilators I've read that this was exaggerated by the media. A doctor said that they _may at some point have to_ pick whom to treat, which the press has interpreted as them writing death warrants to those over 80.

Decisions about who to put on a ventilator are happening daily in Italy. It is no exaggeration

Re: OxyGEN: Open-Source AMBU Respirator

#13

Post by joshgel »

I’m not sure about the exact mechanics, but we are being advised to minimize ‘bagging’ (ie using the ambu-bag to help patients breath before they are intubated) as much as possible. We worry about the markedly increased risk of aersolization of the virus by ambu-bags. So, I’d be sure that isn’t an issue with this device before pushing it out too broadly.

Re: OxyGEN: Open-Source AMBU Respirator

#14

Post by JshWright »

psKama wrote: post #9
JshWright wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other issue is that an ambu-bag doesn't work the same way a ventilator does, and can't provide the functionality that a critically ill respiratory patient would need. It can shove air into the lungs, but it can't manage pressures during the other phases of ventilation (which are equally, or even more, important).

> but it can't manage pressures during the other phases of ventilation (which are equally, or even more, important). Can you please elaborate on this? What pressures and what phases are involved? The author explicitly calls for help and input from people to make it more functional and easier to built. Maybe your concerns can be addressable and they would be helpful. In Italy doctors have to pick who to connect ventil…

It's a physical limitation of the bag style ventilation, it's not something you could design around by squeezing the bag differently.

For instance, the amount of "back pressure" during exhalation is important when managing ARDS patients. The ambu-bag can only exert pressure when it is being actively squeezed, and you can only squeeze it so far.

Re: OxyGEN: Open-Source AMBU Respirator

#15

Post by curtpw »

Not a ventilator. No intubation = not a ventilator. Great work, but these guys should really avoid using the term "ventilator" given current circumstances; it just muddies the water around a very important issue (ventilator shortages).
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