**ROYALTY-FREE READY TO SIGN LICENSE**
NU 2020-118

INVENTORS
Ed Colgate*
Michael Peshkin*

SHORT DESCRIPTION
A method to adapt commercially available emergency ventilators with capabilities to reach higher pressures

ABSTRACT
In response to the limited supply of hospital ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic, two Northwestern professors have created a solution that adapts commercial emergency ventilators to be better suited for COVID-19 patients.  Emergency ventilators, such as Vortran’s GO2Vent®, Hartwell’s SureVent and the UIUC RapidVent, are intended for short-term use in acute situations.  They are indeed automated and more controllable than a BVM (“Amubu bag”), but they still require continuous supervision.  The Vortran GO2Vent® also has its advantages, not requiring electrical power and offering some control over the inhalation and exhalation positive pressures (PIP and PEEP).  However, emergency ventilators as a whole do not have the finer adjustments needed to reach the higher pressures for COVID-19 patients.  Here, Northwestern faculty have created a modified GO2Vent® that is capable of achieving PEEP values of 15-20 cm-water and higher, by overriding the manufacturer’s set  proportionality of PEEP to PIP.   In this way, the adjustable proportionality allows healthcare workers to control and reach the greater PEEP and PIP as standard hospital ventilators.  The retrofit raises both PIP and PEEP pressures by the same increment, to an additional pressure of 5-15 (cm-water) or more.    To visually monitor the respiratory pressure cycle of patients, they have also built a meter-high manometer which is viewable from a distance.  The manometer has an alarm that can be set to warn of over-pressure.  Currently, the professors are working on a respiration monitor to alarm if respiration slows or ceases for any reason.

Upon licensing, a bill of materials, assembly instructions and video will be provided.

APPLICATIONS  

• Respiratory virus epidemic response
• Low cost respiratory care stockpiles

ADVANTAGES  

• Achieves higher PIP PEEP pressures on emergency ventilators
• Offers easy visualization and an alarm for over-pressures

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT

Prototype generated and benchtop testing in progress. This device has not been evaluated by the FDA.

INVENTOR CONTACTS
Ed Colgate, PhD
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
(e) colgate@northwestern.edu

Michael Peshkin, PhD
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
(e) peshkin@northwestern.edu

INVO CONTACT FOR EXPRESS LICENSING
(e) INVOLicenseCompliance@northwestern.edu
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Retrofitted Go2Vent® attached to manometer (left) and model lung (right)