Updates

Here's what we've been up to.

Southern Utah University students create improved ventilator blower mount

Southern Utah University students create improved ventilator blower mount

RespiraWorks extends its thanks to Jathen Chaffin, Antoine Pautrat, Kobe Potter, and Alessandro Sanchioni, a team of students at Southern Utah University. Before their work, the ventilator’s blower mount was a complicated design that required special clamping during assembly and only supported one specific model of blower. They completely redesigned it and made a flexible, easy-to-assemble mount that supports four models of blowers and can be easily adapted to many more. They even tested it against the ISO 80601 standard medical device drop test. By making the blower mount more adaptable and more serviceable, they have helped RespiraWorks in its mission to produce medical devices that can reach as many people as possible.

git tutorial published

Our "Zero to Hero" git tutorial has been published! Anyone wanting to get started with git on a Windows computer to make contributions to the Ventilator project, this video is for you!

In this video, we start with a completely fresh install of Windows and in just over an hour, install git, setup a GitHub account, connect them together by creating SSH keys, clone a repo, make a branch, create a PR, review and approve the PR, and merge the branch.

Progress on our powered respirator (PAPR)

Progress on our powered respirator (PAPR)

One of the common requests with the previous design was that it was hard to be understood while speaking and wearing the mask. Another respirator, the HF-800, contains a polyimide-film speaking diaphragm, that solves this problem. It uses a different filter attachment system (Secure Click) so it cannot be used with the current Respiraworks PAPR design without an adapter. We have designed and are currently testing a new HF-800 PAPR adapter, which can be accessed from our github repository:

In testing this new design for the past two weeks, I have had no trouble communicating with people even in noisy/crowded environments. The HF-800 also offers improvements in comfort and sealing vs. the 6000-series mask, especially during extended head movements.

Full instructions on how to modify the HF-800 into a full inhale-exhale P100 filtering PAPR will be updated soon.

- Edwin Chiu

Updates from across the globe...

Updates from across the globe...

Our progress continues with updates from around the world! Our mechanical lead in Turkey has assembled a ventilator enclosure prototype build. Additionally, manufacturers in Tunisia have reached out to begin a partnership with RespiraWorks, and our partners in India are exploring the adaptation of our ventilator design for the pediatric sector.

We are currently hard at work on our next iteration of the hardware design, integrating new features and simplifying manufacturing. Software is also undergoing a major overhaul, making it easier to adapt the configuration for future innovation or local manufacturing.

Lastly... for all our volunteers and donors, we have a little token of appreciation to send you, thanks to the sponsorship of our friends at Sticker Mule. Keep an eye out for some swag! We appreciate all your support, and we couldn't do it without you. If you have donated/volunteered in the past and you haven't received your swag, contact us!

RespiCon and ASCE

RespiraWorks presented at the Respiratory Support Inventors’ Conference (RespiCon) last month. Earlier this year, we also presented for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in a virtual roundtable, Developing and Delivering Sustainable Solutions for Global Engineering Challenges. There is great work being done around the world, and we were honored to be able to connect with so many incredible groups and people who are similarly motivated to solve global challenges.

Here is the ventilator hardware demonstration that we presented at RespiCon. We have completed our v0.3 enclosed prototype, called Swasa, a name that our team in India suggested. The manufacturing design is fully documented, and the software deployment scripts are self-contained: simply copy and paste one line to load all the software needed to run the ventilator once it is built. (For those interested in building this prototype, see our GitHub for more details.)

Comprehensive Design Revision

Comprehensive Design Revision

If you haven't heard from us in a while, that's because the entire RespiraWorks team has been hard at work on a comprehensive design revision of the entire Ventilator! All the things we learned and adapted in our last design are being integrated into this new one. Every team is involved in the push: mechanical, electrical, software, and our brand-new regulatory effort. Among the exciting new efforts:

  • A streamlined enclosure that is lighter and easier to ship.
  • Redesigned internals to make experimentation, assembly and servicing cleaner and more straightforward.
  • A new circuit board that reduces assembly steps and adds modularity for sensor flexibility.
  • Fully integrated 90-minute battery backup and charging.
  • Higher peak patient pressure capability.
  • Higher-accuracy FiO2 delivery.
  • Compensation features for accurate operation at altitudes above sea level.
  • A brand new effort to implement ISO-13485-based Regulatory Compliance systems to document our work.

Not surprisingly, with all this activity we have been consuming volunteer-hours and funding at an accelerated rate, and we would love some help! If you are able, there are a few ways you can help:

Join us as a volunteer at https://respira.works/join-us

Make a donation at https://respira.works/donate

And, if you want to sport some RespiraWorks apparel, anything you buy at our shop also helps out our effort: https://respira.works/shop

Thanks for sticking with us and following our work!

2020 comes to a close... and RespiraWorks has come so far.

At the start of this year, we could not have imagined what the world would look like with the arrival of COVID-19... and we also could not have imagined the power and energy of those who are determined to do something to help.

In a year of crisis, so many people have stepped up and responded to the call to help. We are so grateful for the healthcare workers on the front lines and the essential workers keeping our world running. And we are thankful to all those who have given their time and energy to volunteer, wherever they are.

RespiraWorks would not be where it is today without our volunteers and donors working to make our vision a reality. What started as a project in a garage is now a global non-profit that spans multiple continents and dozens of volunteers. We have teams building and testing our ventilators in India and Brazil, and patients in wildfire-ravaged California along with workers in Asia testing our powered air-purifying respirators.

We couldn't do it without all of you.

Thank you so much. Let's work to make 2021 even brighter, together.

Introducing the RespiraWorks PAPR!

The RespiraWorks Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR) is here!

Like all our projects, this is open-source: the assembly instructions, design files, and list of materials with purchase links can all be found here (https://github.com/RespiraWorks/PAPR). We wish to make this accessible to as many people as possible.

In this PAPR, the combination of a respirator mask, powered air delivery, and commonly-available bayonet-mount filter packs provides a better face-seal, more comfortable breathing, and more reusability than disposable masks. Using a standard USB-C battery pack, it can run continuously for more than 20 hours per battery. Two wearable configurations are built into the PAPR; the powered blower unit can be worn around the waist with a waist belt, or worn with a shoulder strap.

In addition to the PAPR, we are hard at work on an open-source, fully featured ICU ventilator. If you would like to contribute more substantially to the design of the PAPR or the ventilator and are motivated by our mission, join us! Teams all over the world, including in India and Brazil, are working to bring the RespiraWorks ventilator and PAPR to those in need in their countries - tune in for more updates in the coming week.