Development of a Portable Mechanical Ventilator using 3D Origami Tubes to Fight COVID-19

拟议的项目涉及西蒙弗雷泽大学的Kim Woo Soo医生团队(共同申请者之一)、不列颠哥伦比亚大学护理学院助理教授Lillian Hung博士(医疗保健合作伙伴)、温哥华综合医院呼吸治疗科S Ingrid Hakanson女士目前与新冠肺炎患者的日常互动、呼吸机制造商Pantheon Design(卑诗省温哥华)的呼吸机制造商，以及一家批量生产便携式呼吸机Tinkerine的3D打印机制造商。在这里，我们提出了一种低成本的便携式折纸管式3D打印机械呼吸机的设计和原型，用于大规模疫情和资源匮乏的环境中与新冠肺炎合作。拟议的机械呼吸机通过收缩3D设计的折纸管来实现呼吸，而不是压缩传统的袋阀面罩(BVM)。3D设计的折纸管的体积变化将超过原始体积的85%，而传统的BVM的体积变化为25%。因此，对于便携式应用，所提出的呼吸器可以变得比传统的呼吸器小得多。 通过及时的投资，该团队将为便携式呼吸机带来关键突破，创建一个成熟的制造平台，并有望受益于优化的设计、低成本的加工和机械耐用性。这项拟议的研究为医疗呼吸机设计领域提供了一个新的方向；很少有研究项目专注于便携式呼吸机安全气囊的制造及其在新冠肺炎上的系统应用。便携式呼吸机技术已经引起了全世界的兴趣。但是，3D可打印可自动折叠便携式呼吸机的概念相当新颖和独特。因此，随着这一发展，加拿大将处于全球技术优势。我们未来的目标是使折纸风管适用于许多其他类型的机械呼吸机应用。

The proposed project involves a joint effort between Dr. Woo Soo Kim's team at Simon Fraser University (SFU), a co-applicant, Dr. Lillian Hung, Assistant Professor in the University of British Columbia (UBC) Nursing, a Healthcare collaborator, Ms. Ingrid Hakanson, Vancouver General Hospital (VGH)'s Respiratory Therapy Department who are currently interacting with COVID-19 patients daily, the manufacturer of the ventilator, Pantheon design, Vancouver in BC, and one 3D printer manufacturer for mass production of the portable ventilator, Tinkerine, Delta in BC. We propose here the design and prototyping of a low-cost portable 3D printed mechanical ventilator with Origami tubes for the use in mass pandemic situation and resource-poor environment with COVID-19. The proposed mechanical ventilator delivers breaths by contracting 3D designed Origami tube instead of compressing a conventional bag-valve mask (BVM). The 3D designed Origami tube will change its volume more than 85 % of the original volume, which is compared with conventional BVM's 25 % volume change. Therefore, the proposed ventilator can become much smaller size than the conventional one for the portable application. With a timely investment, the team will generate pivotal breakthrough for a portable ventilator, creating a full-fledged manufacturing platform poised to benefit from optimized design, low-cost processing, and mechanical durability. The proposed research presents a new direction within the medical ventilator design sector; there are very few research projects focusing on the manufacturing of a portable ventilator air bag and their systematic applications for COVID-19. The portable ventilator technology has already generated worldwide interest. But, 3D printable self-foldable portable ventilator concept is quite new and unique. Therefore, Canada will be poised with a global technology advantage with this development. Our future goal is to make the Origami air tube versatile for many other types of mechanical ventilator applications.