ShiVent
Shifa Technologies developed a simple and low-cost Non-Invasive Ventilator for patients with breathing problems due to COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses called the ShiVent.
It does not require electricity and functions on the principles of Bubble Continuous Pressure Airway Pressure (CPAP). It keeps the patients' airways open and prevents deterioration to a state where they need mechanical ventilators which are scarce and expensive. This way, hospitals, especially in low resource settings with unreliable power supply, can efficiently care for patients with COVID19.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a strain on health systems globally. The high price and shortage of mechanical ventilatory systems have contributed to the death of thousands of patients. With developing countries seeing an upsurge in confirmed cases, many of them are at a loss as to how to tackle the challenge because of their dwindling health systems, resource constraints and challenges with power supply.
According to Life Bank Nigeria’s latest equipment census tagged Quip, Nigeria has as few as 288 mechanical ventilators serving almost 200 million people.
This shortage presents a great access gap for patients who need life saving ventilatory support.
With majority of patients presenting with mild to moderate symptoms; a simple, low cost ventilatory alternative which does not depend on electricity and is widely replicable can potentially prevent most patients from developing severe symptoms which would need mechanical ventilation, thus, giving developing countries like Nigeria a fighting chance against this disease.
Our solution is built on the principles of the “Bubble CPAP" - a well known means of generating airway pressure by bubbling expired air or oxygen through a fixed water column. Bubble CPAP has been successfully used in neonatal respiratory distress both in US, UK hospitals and in low-resource settings. This approach has been studied for use in adult respiratory distress and it turned out to be successful on healthy adults over the period of 30mins through which the test was carried out (Brendan H. Milliner, 2019).
In designing our solution, we took note of the requirements and guidance of the NHS and MHRA (Medicines and Health Regulations Authority) in the UK on the standards required for a ventilator and the advice from the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (Eddlleston, 2020).
The ShiVent design focuses on 2 key elements - a venturi mixer to enable a blend of oxygen and air, thus supporting the inhalation process and a Bubbler (Bottle + Specialised Cap) designed to create, sustain and regulate back pressure in the patient exhalation process. The ShiVent was particularly designed to deliver CPAP at a comparatively low cost by combining 3D printed parts with off the shelf components.
Our solution - the ShiVent, upon deployment will make a significant contribution towards the lives of patients with COVID-19 and other respiratory problems, thus contributing to the health and wellbeing of patients. The simplicity of the solution is especially attractive for developing countries that cannot cope with the cost of expensive ventilatory devices.
In deploying this solution, we hope to work hand in hand with local collaborators, manufacturers, healthcare facilities, and academic institutions. In doing so, we would like to build the capacity of local Biomedical Engineers, Researchers, and Medical personnel to efficiently utilise, maintain and improve on the functionality of the device. This would build local capacity and productivity and generally improve patient outcomes even post COVID-19.
Our solution has enormous potential for improving healthcare delivery in health facilities, building the capacity of its workforce and saving precious lives.
Our solution is needed because it would provide health systems with an easily replicable, scalable and sustainable means of successfully treating patients with breathing problems.
It fits perfectly with the challenge’s need to strengthen health systems in developing countries in terms of resource and capacity to deal with health challenges and pandemics.
Our solution would ensure the deployment of safe, efficient and easy to use ventilators together with a digital training and support platform to improve the capacity of health professionals to safely implement, maintain and use the device.
- Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model
Dr
