Locally developed ventilator to assist in COVID-19 fight
A LOCALLY manufactured ventilator is set to hit state hospitals nationwide to assist patients showing respiratory distress in the early phase of Covid-19 infection.
The ventilator is the fruit of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in collaboration with a number of local partners.
The development forms part of government’s National Ventilator Project (NVP) under the auspices of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), and is supported by the Solidarity Fund.
The first batch of ventilators will be provided to state hospitals around the country that are currently experiencing pressure due to the unavailability of equipment to deal with the pandemic.
The CSIR solution is a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device that uses an innovative design to provide a mild level of oxygenated air pressure to keep the airways open and, thus, assist with breathing.
The units are non-invasive and fill the need for readily available breathing apparatus, deployed and applied easily – even outside of hospitals if needs be – for intervention in cases where patients are at an early, not-intensive stage of respiratory distress caused by the Coronavirus.
The device can be used in both high-tech clinical environments, as well as temporary settings, such as field hospitals and quarantine facilities that have been established across the country to handle rising COVID-19 cases.
Under the project name, “CSIR L.I.F.E.” (Lung Inspiratory Flow Enabler), the system uses standard hospital-grade oxygen supply and features easy-to-use, on-device flow gauges to adjust Fraction of Inspired Oxygen in steps of 10% oxygenation.
Source: northglennews.co.za