SBIR Phase I: A Novel Respiratory Ventilator for Clinical Care (COVID-19)

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a transformational ventilator design targeted at the unmet clinical need for low-cost (<$3000), highly functional, rugged, modular and low maintenance ventilators supporting advanced ventilation modes. Current midrange ventilators cost between $8,000-20,000 with high-end ventilation units costing up to $50,000. The proposed design uses highly efficient and low-cost modern technologies with few moving functional elements. Only four modules are employed, designed to connect together in a quick-release, tool-less fashion requiring no service technicians to maintain. The design ensures that the new ventilator will work in existing hospital and acute care settings by (a) supporting networking of mobile devices for remote monitoring, (b) networking to hospital information systems to integrate with patient records and analytic systems, (c) supporting standard breathing patient circuit tubing and intubation tubes, (d) inclusion of monitoring settings and alarms, (e) supporting the use of hospital oxygen, oxygen in cylinders, medical air and atmospheric air. The global mechanical ventilator market was valued at $2.94 billion in 2019 and is estimated to reach $12.54 billion by 2027, driven by the rising worldwide prevalence of respiratory diseases including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. This new design will favorably impact clinical settings including acute care facilities, in-transit systems, home health care and developing countries. It is ideal for surge and scale requirements, such as stockpiling by hospitals, strategic national stockpiles, mass casualty response and humanitarian missions.

This SBIR Phase I project leverages applied engineering principles and understanding the mechanics of compressible fluids. It leverages the use of computer-aided design and engineering, 3D printing, networking and low-cost components in consideration of hospital protocols. Novel innovations include: (a) positive displacement, volumetric air motive system for air/O2 delivery, and (b) a multi-position single element rotary selector valve for flow control of the air motive system. An inexpensive bill of materials is achieved with minimal components for low weight (<4 pounds not including battery backup), small logistics footprint, minimal component failure points, ease of maintenance and rapid scale of manufacture.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.