A team of Polish scientists has designed a remote-controlled fan. (Representational)
Warsaw (Reuters):
A team of Polish scientists has designed a remote-controlled ventilator which he hopes will allow doctors to help critically ill patients breathe, but from a distance, to make medical staff safer during the coronavirus pandemic.
If it can be shown that the experimental RespiSave ventilator works safely on humans, doctors can observe patients’ vital signs through an application, monitor their condition and adjust the machine’s parameters from any location. where in the hospital, the designers of the project told Reuters.
Doctors will be notified if the ventilator is disconnected or if the patient’s condition changes dramatically.
Breathing failure requiring support with a mechanical ventilator is common in patients with severe COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
The remote control function means that medical staff may be in less frequent contact with these patients, said Lukasz Szarpak, a project medical advisor.
Healthcare workers caring for critically ill patients are particularly at risk of becoming infected with a coronavirus, in some cases due to a lack of adequate personal protective equipment.
The designers, who are among the first to offer such a device, said they expect an expansion in the use of medical telemetry, especially after the medical crisis associated with the coronavirus.
Leszek Kowalik, the project director, said that RespiSave would be much cheaper than a typical fan, although he did not specify the price of the device.
Many hospitals around the world have faced a shortage of ventilators as the coronavirus epidemic spread.
While the technology is still being tested, Szarpak and Kowalik said they hope it will be available in Poland in the coming months and possibly in a larger global market.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
