Doctors find a way to convert regular breathing machines into ventilators

Like many other healthcare facilities, Northwell Health Hospital, in New York, was experience the burden of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the rising number of patients in need of hospital care.

Amidst the situation, Dr. Hugh Cassiere, a pulmonologists at Northwell Health, thought that, maybe, breathing machines like CPAPs could be converted into ventilators. He shared the idea with his colleague Stanley John and they started investigating, confirming that the breathing machines’ software could be used to turn them into ventilator.

These types of breathing machine are normally used in the treatment of sleep chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other breathing disorders.
Along with a biomedical engineer, they were able to convert them into ventilators, using a 3D printed adaptor to connect the machine to throath tubes and adding HEPA filters to capture virus emitted by the patients.

Many patients have already undergone treatment with these machines, including patients suffering from other pulmonary illnesses, in order to free the most advance ventilators to treat the most critically ill Covid-19 patients.

Adapted from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/health/ventilators-coronavirus.html
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