Design and Development of an Automated Compression Mechanism for a Bag-Valve-Mask-Based Emergency Ventilator

Abstract

In response to COVID-19 pandemic, universities and related institutions around the world came up with various mechanical ventilator designs to help cope with the expected shortages of ventilators as the pandemic rages. Many of these designs are based on automating the manual operation of the Bag Valve Mask (BVM), a ubiquitous resuscitator device used for emergency ventilation or resuscitation of patients with breathing problems. In this paper, the mechanical design and development process for a BVM-based emergency ventilator is discussed. In particular, the evolution of the design from a simple, low-cost device to a more sophisticated system acceptable to pulmonologists and related medical practitioners is documented.