Ventilator Developed by University of São Paulo Approved in Human Trials

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – The emergency lung ventilator developed by a group of USP’s Polytechnic School (POLI) engineers to meet the demand for ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic was approved in technical trials and will now be referred to the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) for clearance.

Human trials were conducted with four patients at the Heart Institute (INCOR) of the Clínicas Hospital (HC) of USP, between April 17th and 19th. According to the technicians’ assessment, the ventilator was approved in all modes of use and there were no issues with the ventilated patients.

In addition to the research conducted in the HC, animal testing and technical evaluations also confirmed the ventilator’s efficiency, as it can be manufactured in two hours and costs only a fraction of the price of the cheapest available commercial devices, according to the researchers.

The study at the HC was carried out according to the guidelines of the National Commission of Ethics in Research and under the supervision of Professor José Otávio Auler Junior, from the School of Medicine. Prior to that, on April 13th and 14th, the equipment was tested on animals, under the supervision of professors from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny.

The Inspire ventilator was developed by POLI professor Raul González Lima’s team. In addition to being produced in up to two hours, the equipment has an attractive cost: while conventional ventilators cost an average of R$15,000 (US$3,000), the price of the Inspire is about R$1,000, according to the researchers involved.

To expedite the technical assessments, the engineers were forced to improvise. A balloon made of rubber was filled with air by the ventilator to determine whether the device was able to control variables such as pressure and oxygen flow.

“The goal was to obtain measurements on the patient’s breathing frequency to allow synchronization of the device’s oxygen supply with the breathing frequency. Several breathing frequencies were tested because there was control of variables such as pressure and flow”, explains Professor Guenther Krieger Filho, coordinator of POLI’s Advanced Combustion Diagnostic Laboratory”.

Development of the ventilator

A group of approximately 40 researchers from POLI, including biomedical, mechanical, mechatronic, electronic and production engineers, students and representatives of the private sector, worked together to develop the ventilator to meet a potential demand for hospital equipment during the coronavirus pandemic.

The group’s goal was to develop a low-cost lung ventilator, with domestic technology and components. The result is faster production of the equipment at a lower cost.

“We sought to build a device that could use as many components as possible existing in the Brazilian market, not relying too much on imports, and that we could engage manufacturers to increase their production,” said Professor Raul González Lima, a specialist in Biomedical Engineering.

The total manufacturing time is less than two hours. “We would like the domestic industry to develop and export their technologies to many countries,” continued the researcher.

The pulmonary ventilator developed by the POLI is mechanical, to be used in emergencies, because the team considered a potential lack of compressed air lines in hospital beds, which would require the pumping of air to the patient.

According to researcher Raul González Lima, POLI is responsible for the project, but not for manufacturing, which should be performed by companies licensed by ANVISA. The project has an open (royalty-free) license for those interested in producing the ventilator.

Source: G1