Description
Due to the extensive health and economic consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, an alternative Q-vent lung ventilator was developed in early 2020 by a scientific team of medical, natural sciences and technology experts. The device is primarily intended for bridging therapy of the pulmonary form of COVID-19 in places where conventional pulmonary ventilation is not available or during transport. The secondary designation of the device is beyond the scope of the coronavirus crisis, for respiratory support of patients during simple procedures such as appendectomy and caesarean section, but also injuries caused by accidents. The project aims to significantly mitigate the consequences of the humanitarian crisis, to teach domestic workers in Kenya to produce this device on their own from available resources and to train medical and paramedic staff to operate it. Due to the Q-vent´s cheap, modular, and pressure-independent design, it is possible to manufacture the device in Kenyan conditions. Special emphasis was given to design of components and support modules and thus, complete service and production of spare parts can be provided using 3D printers and materials available in Kenya. After introduction and learning of the full-production of the Q-vent to domestic experts, a team of local health professionals will be trained and then deployed in the target localities (hospitals) together with the Q-vent devices. Based on the facts above, the Q-vent device is a good and suitable candidate for deployment in the Kenya area. After teaching the domestic workers how to produce the equipment, it may even be a project beyond deployment in Kenya. Gender equality will be one of the main starting points for building a working team in Kenya. High mortality from various diseases in the area is largely associated with the unavailability of standard respiratory supportive care requiring high-pressure oxygen distribution. The Q-vent device can regulate the volume of the breath, the frequency of the breaths in the desired range and is also able to regulate the inspiration to expiration ratio. The response to waking up the patient is provided by a sensor that triggers an alarm. The response to possible increased lung resistance to prevent bronchospasm and other lung damage is defined by electromechanical feedback. The device contains a backup power supply and a solid professional metal frame. The price of the device together with the supportive modules in the current technical design does not exceed 490 €, which is 25 to 50 times less than commercially available devices, which are almost unavailable due to their price in the catchment regions. Apart from the unaffordability, a high-pressure hospital oxygen connection is not available in many areas of Kenya, and for this reason, acute treatment with conventional devices is not possible. To approximate, for € 100.000, it is possible to produce several hundred of Q-vent devices, as opposed to three to four common, commercially available devices. As it is a supportive device that does not hinder the person's biological processes, which means damage to the patient's health by the device is excluded.