A team of Slovak scientists designed an alternative to artificial lung ventilation. (source: TASR)
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The recent invention may help hospitals during emergencies.
Slovak scientists Samuel Furko and Daniel Furko developed an alternative to artificial lung ventilation. Its use has been confirmed by the testing conducted at the Department of Simulation and Virtual Medical Education of the Comenius University’s Faculty of Medicine.
Among the main benefits of Q-vent is the ease of use and low price, the TASR newswire reported.
Easy construction
Samuel Furko and Daniel Furko both work at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Comenius University in Bratislava. They developed the device in cooperation with Dalibor Gallik of Comenius University’s Faculty of Medicine and Patrik Palacka of the National Oncology Institute.
The scientists were inspired by the critical situation the coronavirus outbreak caused in Italy. The lack of medical devices including lung ventilators can also be expected in Slovakia.
“Our simple alternative to artificial lung ventilation can be used when no standard device is available in hospitals,” the authors said, as quoted by TASR.
They came up with the idea in early March and developed three various prototypes during the following weeks. The final product is composed of basic components so that it can be constructed in a very short time.
The construction price of the Q-vent device is about €80. Its authors say they can produce about 15 pieces a day.
Help to Italy and Spain
Q-vent has already been tested during a six-hour operation, and its usability has been confirmed by testing in simulated conditions as well. The next step will be to test it in a real environment.
“We hope these tests based on clinical observation will help us improve it, and we’ll use the revelations in the new generation of this device,” Samuel Furko and Daniel Furko said, as quoted by TASR. “We’re also putting together a working group that may help us bring the device to Italy and Spain.
