University College London (UCL) engineers, clinicians at UCL Hospital and Mercedes Formula One have created a breathing device that will help COVID-19 patients.
The device sends oxygen to the lungs without needing a ventilator and is far less invasive. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices have been used in China and Italy to help COVID-19 positive patients to breathe. They have also been used elsewhere but are in short supply, according to the BBC.
A breathing aid that can help keep Covid-19 patients out of intensive care, adapted by @uclmecheng/@Health_Eng & clinicians at @uclh working with @F1 engineers, has been approved for use in the @NHSuk. https://t.co/a5Cf79nzSp#UniSupport
— UCL (@ucl) March 30, 2020
UCLH has received forty new devices and three more have been sent to other London hospitals to be trialed.
If the trials are a success then Mercedes-AMG-HPP can begin production. It is estimated that 1,000 CPAP machines can be produced per day. If all goes well, manufacturing will begin next week.
Also read: Engineers hack scuba masks to use as ventilators
Image: Unsplash
