Overcoming supply disruptions during pandemics by utilizing found hardware for open source gentle ventilation

Abstract

This article details the design of an open source emergency gentle ventilator (gentle-vent) framework that can be used in periods of scarcity. Although it is not a medical device, the system utilizes a wide range of commonly-available components that are combined using basic electronics skills to achieve the desired performance. The main function of the gentlevent is to generate a calibrated pressure wave at the pump to provide support to the patient's breathing. Each gentle-vent permutation was tested using a DIY manometer as it would be utilized in the field in low-resource settings and validated with an open source VentMon. The most rudimentary implementation costs less than $40.

Professors want to share: preliminary survey results on establishing open-source-endowed professorships

“…Several discussed OS in terms of the common good and used for example, the hoarding of COVID-19 vaccine patents as examples exemplifying why OS should be standard in academia and science should all be public. In fact, the open-source model of distributed manufacturing played a key role in relieving supply disruptions during COVID-19 (Folarin et al 2022 ; Oberloier et al 2022 ). Others argued that open sourcing removes the monetary gain from academic work and, thus, allows the purest pursuit of knowledge for the good of humankind.…”

Distributed manufacturing of an open-source tourniquet testing system

“…In this model, designs are shared with an open-source license and then individuals (do-it-yourself: DIY) [26] , [27] or companies/organizations working together (do-it-together: DIT) [28] , [29] , [30] are free to download and replicate them. The opportunity to overcome supply disruptions in humanitarian crises [31] , was recently brought into sharp focus during the COVID-19 pandemic [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] . There is hope that such an approach can be used to solve less acute shortages of medical equipment ranging from tools to help those suffering from chronic respiratory diseases [40] to the needs of surgeons [41] .…”