Effectiveness of 3D Printing and Open-Source Technologies for Development of Ventilators, and Other Critical Care Technology in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled an explosion of attempts to manufacture open-source ventilators, diagnostic equipment, and personal protective equipment by both individuals and companies. The initial and well-publicised success of Insinnova’s 3D printed venturi ventilator valve to boost supply, as well as global panic regarding the availability of intensive care unit ventilators, has led the open-source community to focus on this area when considering projects. However, patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome such as that caused by COVID-19 are notoriously difficult to ventilate, with clinical experience suggesting that even slight adjustments in ventilator pressures or modes can lead to a dramatic deterioration in already profoundly unstable patients. In the following chapter, we review strategies for the production of open-source and 3D printed solutions to critical care technology in response to the pandemic. We focus on open-source ventilators in this chapter, and discuss the positive and negative implications of open-source ventilator designs on clinical management of patients, as well as the highly discouraging prospect of ventilator splitting for management of multiple patients with a single ventilator. We discuss possible further opportunities in critical care technology for makers to explore, including haemofiltration devices, and infusion pumps.