Ventilator system built for rapid deployment (video)

Coventor: Collaboration between university and local industry leaders, researchers acquired necessary components to assemble thousands of ventilators per week, with all of them currently shipping from Minneapolis.

Coventor is a mechanical ventilator that is simple to use for ICU-trained medical providers. It's compact (the size of a cereal box) and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and distribute. This device does not require a pressurized oxygen or air supply unlike commercially available mechanical ventilators.

The proposed system consists of a frame and mechanical actuator to stabilize and compress a commercially available ambulatory ventilation bag connected to the patient’s endotracheal tube and external compressed oxygen, or if oxygen is not available, ambient air. The frame can be metal stamped, 3D printed, or modified consumer goods.

Partners in the project include Digi-Key, MGC Diagnostics, Protolabs, Teknic, Essential Medical Devices, the University of Minnesota, Rally Studios, and the University of Minnesota Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center.