Kristina Shea's doctoral student Cosima du Pasquier works on the mechanic desgin of the ventilator. (Photograph: Nicola Pitaro / ETH Zurich)
Although the team has kept every aspect of the new ventilator simple and focused on using standard components that are available worldwide, that doesn’t mean that any savvy do-it-yourselfer could build this machine at home. “The design may be straightforward, but controlling the airflow and getting the right rhythm is a complex task that requires engineering expertise,” Shea says. “We’ve brought ETH Professor Melanie Zeilinger on board from the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control to assist us with the control technology.”
The concept for the new ventilator was originally developed by engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “We examined over 40 open-source designs, but this concept seemed the most promising,” she says. The team subsequently made their own improvements to the plans as they worked on the device in the lab, especially improving the buildability, compactness and product interaction.
First test completed successfully
The prototype has already passed its initial technical review. This was carried out by Marianne Schmid Daners and her team from the Chair of Product Development and Engineering Design. The test rig they built in their laboratory will also enable them to test other new ventilator systems, including those built by companies.
The researchers are already in negotiations with a manufacturing partner in the Ukraine who has expressed an interest in producing the ventilator on an industrial scale. “We can’t manufacture the product ourselves at ETH. But if we can find industry partners that are keen to produce this kind of machine, then we will do everything we can to support them,” Shea says. Whatever the case, leaving their plans to gather dust in a drawer is not an option: “We will definitely be making our design open source as soon as we finish the development process.”
For Shea, developing the ventilator is far more than just a consolation prize for her cancelled sabbatical. “This is a pretty crazy, chaotic project we’re working on, because the conditions and requirements change on a daily basis.” Under normal circumstances, she emphasises, the project development process feels very different. “That’s what makes this particular project so unique and purposeful – it’s a real adventure.”
