Why Many DIY Ventilator Design Proposals Are Dangerous
The above video from the Real Engineering YouTube channel is titled “A Guide to Designing Low-Cost Generators for COVID-19” but it would be better titled “Why the Current DIY Ventilator Designs Are Dangerous”.
Most of the designs floating around are based on using a resuscitation bag the kind that paramedics use to force air into a patient until they can be transported to medical facility. These bags are only designed for limited use in emergency situations and are not appropriate for long-term ventilation.
There is no way to adequately control the volume or pressure of air being forced into the patient’s lungs.
A ventilator is a sophisticated piece of technology that does not lend itself to many of the simple solutions being proposed by well-intentioned engineers and makers. This is a must-see video for anyone interested in the topic.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
