Not a doctor and not an expert, but my company design and manufacture a lot of stuff (for ventilators also) for big names. There are may others in India who does. So, answers to 1,2,3 is yes, since we were novices (with experience in other domains) once. We manufacture equipment that can actually positively fry a patient. Question 4 is moot if the design is already proven and FDA approved. Training is not the issue, especially for the "bag squeeze" type device.amar_p wrote: Perhaps doctors/medical field experts on this forum can shed some light on:
1. Is it reasonable to think that ventilators with all the required features and failsafe mechanisms can be produced by novice companies even if they have other mfg experience?
2. Can they be mfgd with required reliability & MTBF with adequate QC?
3. Can they be manufactured, packaged, shipped and installed with the required sterile conditions?
4. How long does it take for training medical staff to operate each model with required safety and optimum settings to not endanger the patient?
5. Since we are talking about intubating COVID patients in serious condition, the ventilator will extract CO2 rich air which will also be rich in virus containing air or droplets. Where does this "exhaust" from the ventilator go? How can we ensure this expelled air does not contaminate others ?
6. Does the world run a considerable risk trying to save already critical patients with these jugaad ventilators produced in urgence ?
Thank you.
Question 5: There are filters and disinfectation systems that process the exhaled air.
Question 6 is rhetoric, until you yourself get sick with COVID-19, and there is no ventilator available for you. THEN, you would beg to be put on the "ventilator" made out of a blacksmith's bellows.
So, yes, we should allow the 'jugaad' ventilators (if it meets basic functional, reliability and safety requirements) to be used if (god forbid!!) we get to levels where we run out of ventilators (and scrap them once the crisis is over)