“How Can We Squeeze This Bag?”: The Question Behind a COVID-19 Innovation

Responding to one of the many problems that emerged from the COVID-19 outbreak, Husky Corporation engineers designed rapid-manufacture ventilators; simple yet reliable units produced inexpensively from readily available components, delivered at minimal cost, and that can be used promptly with little operator training.

The inspiration came from when nurse anesthetist Nick Till asked his friend, Husky Corporation Engineering Manager Zach Holcomb, if he could think of ways to use manual resuscitator bags as stand-alone respirators. “How can we automatically squeeze this bag?” prompted Holcomb and Husky Design Engineer Derek Willers to launch the project.

An all-electric version of Husky Corporation's rapid-manufacture ventilators, which were conceived in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The company seeks input from the medical community about how to keep improving the units.

The result in a few short days was a ventilator apparatus using a standard size 1500ml resuscitator bag, compressed by a rubber ram attached to an air cylinder that is used in product testing applications. The apparatus will deliver air or oxygen at adjustable flow rates appropriate for patients in need. The ventilators can be made quickly and without a lot of ‘bells and whistles’ that would add time and cost. 

A pneumatic version of the ventilator progressed from idea to proof of concept in approximately one week, with refinements and improvements added from the beginning. Then an all-electric version was developed for use in areas away from hospital rooms that do not have access to compressed air. Both are self-contained units housed in outdoor-rated fiberglass boxes and have a back-up battery supply. The company is also exploring applications where the ventilator could be deployed to third world countries, where a low-cost ventilator would be potentially invaluable. Here is a short video of the all-electric version of the Husky ventilator.

Medical Experts: How Can Husky Improve These Ventilators?

The proof of concept for the Husky ventilator is comprised of readily available components or those which could quickly be produced with a 3D printer. The key component is the air cylinder, operated by compressed air, to “squeeze” the resuscitation bag repeatably and reliably. It’s the same type of air cylinder used in the equipment Husky Corporation uses to test its industry-leading fuel nozzles and components, which often require test cycles that number in excess of several hundred thousand or more without failure.

 

Husky is actively seeking input from the medical community and health professionals to make improvements during the development process. Even those the idea was conceived as a response to the COVD-19 pandemic, the Husky ventilator will be a solution into the future as well.

Contact Husky Corporation at 800 325 3558 for additional information.