Can they make bigger ventilators?

Picture a large ventilator pump with let’s say
the capacity of 10 ventilators with the possibility
for each “branch” to have pressure controls and
oxygen controls...
If they can split ventilators, why not build multi-ventilators?
It shouldn’t be so hard to design.
It might even save some money and materials.

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5 replies	Author	Time	Post
Can they make bigger ventilators? (Original post)	thecrow	Mar 2020	OP
People require different pressures. But, actually what you suggest is being done	mucifer	Mar 2020	#1
Why do that? A waste of time and resources when one-person ventilators	stopbush	Mar 2020	#2
Yes they can	superpatriotman	Mar 2020	#3
Ventilators may not be the problem...	hunter	Mar 2020	#4
Maybe they could	thecrow	Mar 2020	#5

Response to thecrow (Original post)

Fri Mar 27, 2020, 09:00 PM

mucifer (22,245 posts)

1. People require different pressures. But, actually what you suggest is being done

Ventilator splitting has been approved in NYC :

New York hospitals can now attempt to treat two coronavirus patients with a single ventilator, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday, a move that could help the state make better use of its scarce supply of lifesaving breathing machines as the outbreak continues to surge.

New York-Presbyterian Hospital has developed a split-ventilation protocol that has been shared with the New York State Department of Health, which quickly approved the practice.

Calling the technique “not ideal, but workable,” Cuomo said ventilator splitting may be necessary given some projections that suggest the state may need as many as 30,000 ventilators in the coming weeks.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/york-approves-ventilator-splitting-allowing-hospitals-treat-patients/story?id=69816167

Here is why some experts think it's a bad idea : https://www.asahq.org/about-asa/newsroom/news-releases/2020/03/joint-statement-on-multiple-patients-per-ventilator

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Response to thecrow (Original post)

Fri Mar 27, 2020, 09:15 PM

stopbush (24,129 posts)

2. Why do that? A waste of time and resources when one-person ventilators

already exist. By the time you design, test and approve a multi-patient unit you could have built a million ventilators using existing designs.

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Response to thecrow (Original post)

Fri Mar 27, 2020, 09:16 PM

superpatriotman (6,078 posts)

3. Yes they can

We put a man on the moon for crying out loud

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Response to thecrow (Original post)

Fri Mar 27, 2020, 09:26 PM

hunter (36,692 posts)

4. Ventilators may not be the problem...

... if too many people who are qualified to set them up and monitor the patients attached to them get sick.

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Response to hunter (Reply #4)

Fri Mar 27, 2020, 11:58 PM

thecrow (5,507 posts)

5. Maybe they could

have one machine per “ventilator room”.
The machine could have sensors to detect and supply each patient’s pressure needed and maintain proper oxygen levels.
It would be more like one giant unit with its ventilating parts separate from one another.
This would not be like splitting a ventilator!

One medical monitor could be isolated sort of like the booth that protects personnel
from x-rays so there wouldn’t be so much worry about exposure.
Hey, my microwave can detect when the food is cooked and I have manual override.
Maybe this machine is down the road a ways, because out need is so great right now.
But this could be an efficient way for more people to have ventilation in the future.

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