NERD Oxygen Ventilator

In the most severe cases, the coronavirus damages healthy tissue in the lungs, making it hard for them to deliver oxygen to the blood. Pneumonia can develop, along with a more severe and potentially deadly condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome, which can damage other organs.

To prevent this, mechanical ventilators feed oxygen into the lungs of patients with severe respiratory problems through a tube inserted down the throat. The ventilator also has a humidifier, which adds heat and moisture to the air to match the patient's body temperature. Patients with milder symptoms may be put on non-invasive ventilation, using face masks, nasal masks or mouthpieces which allow pressurized air or mixtures of gases to be pushed into the lungs. Additionally, hoods with pressurized oxygen pumped in them via a valve are also commonly used.

NERD has already completed 3 mechanical oxygen ventilator prototypes and are woking on another completely original design for the Ethiopian market. Our team is currently working with hospitals such as Tikur Anbessa and Nordic, and Abet hospital to perfect these prototypes. The first three prototypes are made using an open source design made by Protofy XYZ  (www.oxygen.protofy.xyz),  whose designs have been approved by the EU and are already in use there. These designs are made using simple easy to find materials. The first prototype being wood based, the second from foam and the third using stainless steel sheet metal. These prototypes are each powered using windshield wiper motors and pump oxygen using bag valve masks (BVM). We are currently developing original designs using the inputs of local hospitals and tailor made for the Ethiopian context. Our latest designs are completely original. They will be made entirely from local materials and without a need for BVM’s or windshield wiper motors which are not made locally and may face shortages in the mass production phase. Our aim is to contribute a design that can be used worldwide particularly for developing countries facing similar scarcity issues in Ethiopia.

So far the NERD team has been operating completely from our own funds and volunteering from our dedicated researchers. With the funds we hope to get from this GoFundMe campaign we will get the following:

air pressure and air flow sensors
oxygen supply pressure switch
air valves
stepper motors
geared DC motors/ wipers
drivers
microcontrollers
BVM Masks
Plywood
Acrylic,
Cladding
Painting
desktop CNC machines,
workshop enhancement
power tools
Operational costs including paying our researchers and keeping our center open

Please support us so we can continue to innovate and provide solutions for this crises!