Recommended bed layout for split supply

The spread of COVID-19 is expected to rapidly increase the demand for critical care facilities in general and invasive mechanical ventilation in particular. For developing countries which have limited critical care infrastructure, many are at risk of death simply from lack of ventilation capacity. This paper extends previous work on reliably splitting a ventilator between four patients as a means to meet the anticipated spike in demand for ventilators. Our unique contribution is in providing a set of detailed instructions for splitting any type of ventilator adhering to ISO 5356 standard between four patients including descriptive schematics, bill of materials, and approximate price list.

Our manual also contains a dedicated section on the potential negative side to splitting a ventilator between patients. We urge clinicians and healthcare workers to pay due attention to these concerns and come to their own informed conclusions on whether to proceed with this technique.

Our motivations for compiling this manual are (i) help physicians make an informed decision on whether split ventilator support is viable in the context of COVID-19 by collecting as much information into one document and (ii) in the event clinicians decide to support multiple patients on a single ventilator, provide a clear step-by-step guide on how to do so. We believe all available options for meeting the surge demand for critical care must be explored and hope that this document helps evaluate the use of split ventilator supply scientifically.

Find the full report of Ventilator Modifications to Supply Multiple Patients as pdf here: Download