10D: Feasibility Study of a Novel Low-cost Brazilian Emergency Mechanical Ventilator
Abstract Background: The current need for pulmonary mechanical ventilation related to COVID-19 exceeds the ability of health systems worldwide to acquire and produce mechanical ventilators. The major cause of mortality in patients with this disease is hypoxemia secondary to an inflammatory storm in the lungs associated with thrombotic events. A partnership was established between the university and the private engineering and industrial automation sector to concept and design novel a low-cost emergency mechanical ventilator that could be rapidly available for use in emergency, transport or low-resource health care system, and attend the urgent demand of artificial respiratory system that is need worldwide. It was evaluated the viability of oxygenation and pulmonary ventilation with an emergency mechanical ventilation device called 10D-EMV in animal experiments. A two-stage sequential adaptive study was conducted in 10 sheep, divided into group I (PEEP valve close to the device) and group II (PEEP valve distal to the device). Each animal underwent mechanical ventilation for a total of 120 minutes. Results: The mean oxygenation in group I and group II were 368 mmHg and 366 mmHg, respectively, while the mean partial pressure of carbon dioxide was 58 mmHg and 48 mmHg. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the viability of the 10D device as a novel proposed emergency mechanical ventilator, in order to attend the pandemics demand. Further clinical studies in humans are needed to assess its safety and efficacy.