Researchers at Khalifa University’s Healthcare Engineering Innovation Centre target to mass produce low-cost lifesaving ventilators as its scarcity in medical facilities across the globe looms due to the rising number of COVID-19 patients day by day.
The researchers eye to complete their working prototype within two weeks and are now engineering the production plant for the production of the ventilators, in a bid to produce them soon enough to fill the global demand in time.
The team, led by Dr. Cesare Stefanini, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of HEIC, said their focus is on low-cost, rapid production using 3D printing.
“The number of intensive care beds and mechanical ventilators in hospitals is a fraction of what may be needed in the coming weeks as the situation develops worldwide,” Dr. Stefanini said. “We aim to develop a working prototype in less than two weeks, alongside designing a mass production unit. We have all the theoretical and design expertise in our team, especially in the prototyping phase.”
Ventilators mimick the way a person breaths naturally. Severe cases of COVID-19 require this machine to be able to deliver enough oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
