Meeting the Critical Need for Ventilators in Treatment of COVID-19 Patients

We have designed and built a microprocessor-controlled valve manifold having a single air input supplied from a standard ventilator, three air outlets (one per patient), and a digital control panel for setting the pressure supplied to each patient as well as the desired respiration rate. The manifold features multiple pressure sensors for system monitoring. Each inspiration limb of the manifold will be fitted with a viral filter. Each expiration limb will have a passive HME in line with a viral filter to prevent patient cross-contamination and spread of virions. Each patient will receive one epoch of inspiration pressure followed by expiration as set by the operator. The electronic system ensures that the respiratory cycles are repeated for each patient at a set respiratory rate. In a later version of the device, the pressure waveform may be variable and different for each patient. In operation, the device will display the realtime pressure and respiration rate for each outlet. Because the device will merely multiplex an existing FDAapproved critical care ventilator now in use at Jefferson, it will not exceed the safety and therapy parameters set for the patients, merely delivering those parameters to three patients instead of one, thereby multiplying surge capacity