Basic clinical needs for ventilation of COVID-19 patients

Clinical needs for a ventilator for COVID-19 patient

This video titled "Basic clinical needs for a ventilator to ventilate a COVID 19 patient" is an introductory video , intended to help biomedical entrepreneurs to understand the the basic requirements to create a ventilatory machine to handle ARDS / difficult lung /in COVID19. For doctors who want to learn how to ventilate, there are other modules.

Need is the mother of Invention, when it comes to ventilators

Pandemics are testing times. Great to see Indian Govt taking charge of the situation so proactively at various levels of this disaster management. In response to the facts like shortcomings of health infra , scarcity of the life saving ventilators, big business houses, innovators , biomedical engineers, medicos are all trying to stand up to the situation. Hopefully it should see some significant developments in Indian scenario of critical care medicine for availability ,cost effectiveness and capacity building.

While it is absolutely true that the ventilators evolved from iron lungs to synchronised lung protective machines, it happened only with better and better understanding of the pathophysiology of diseased lungs prompting mechanical changes in the ventilators over the years. Many intensivists are facing the queries regarding new prototypes of ventilators coming up, how much ever the efforts are lauded , haste in making crude prototypes should not cause harm than help to tide over the crisis.

Video to encourage Make in India

Here is a video created in line with the specifications given by Govt of India for ventilators as an effort to explain the details to courageous groups coming forward to “Make in India” ! This video was created with encouragement from Dr L S Shashidhara, Professor and Dean (Research), Ashoka University, Sonipat, 131029 India and Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune (Currently, on Lien at Ashoka University) The video was shot at the ICU at Ruby Hall Clinic and features the following intensivists - Dr. Prachee Sathe (Director, ICU), Dr. Tanima Baronia (Senior Consultant, In charge, ICU) and Dr. Arunkumar (Consultant)

Cost effectiveness is a great determinant of acceptance of treatment modality in our country and obviously of the outcomes. But when it comes to lifesaving treatments like artificial ventilators, imported from other countries, it becomes disproportionately high expenditure in the bill of a critically ill patient ,who so ever bears it. It can be very painful for a sensitive intensivist to explain the “COST” of life to patient family.

Life after COVID-19

The life is not going to be the same after COVID-19 and Critical Care Medicine and ICUs also are hopefully going to change for the better for the common man! Let us welcome the new developments, with concern for quality at the same time !

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