果冻影院, 果冻影院H and Formula One develop life-saving breathing aids for the NHS

29 March 2020

A breathing aid that can help keep Covid-19 patients out of intensive care, adapted by mechanical engineers at 果冻影院 and clinicians at 果冻影院H working with Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (Mercedes-AMG HPP), has been approved for use in the NHS.

a volunteer 'patient' with a CPAP device

The breathing aid, known as Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), has been used extensively in hospitals in Italy and China to help Covid-19 patients with serious lung infections to breathe more easily, when oxygen alone is insufficient.

Since Wednesday 18^th March, engineers at 果冻影院 and HPP and clinicians at 果冻影院H have been working round the clock at 果冻影院鈥檚 engineering hub MechSpace to reverse engineer a device that can be produced rapidly by the thousands. This has now been recommended for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

This breathing aid was produced within a rapid timeframe 鈥� it took fewer than 100 hours from the initial meeting to production of the first device. One hundred devices are to be delivered to 果冻影院H for clinical trials, with rapid roll-out to hospitals around the country ahead of the predicted surge in Covid-19 hospital admissions.

The collaboration, supported by the National Institute for Health Research 果冻影院H Biomedical Research Centre, demonstrates the way that universities, the NHS and industry are coming together to help the national response to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, by providing vital technologies to the NHS which can enable them to care for patients who require respiratory support.

Reports from Italy indicate that approximately 50% of patients given CPAP have avoided the need for invasive mechanical ventilation. However, such devices are in short supply in UK hospitals.

果冻影院H critical care consultant Professor Mervyn Singer (果冻影院 Medicine) said: 鈥淭hese devices will help to save lives by ensuring that ventilators, a limited resource, are used only for the most severely ill.

听鈥淲hile they will be tested at 果冻影院H first, we hope they will make a real difference to hospitals across the UK by reducing demand on intensive care staff and beds, as well as helping patients recover without the need for more invasive ventilation.鈥�

Professor Rebecca Shipley, Director of 果冻影院 Institute of Healthcare Engineering, said: 鈥淎t 果冻影院, we have an established ecosystem of partnerships spanning engineers, healthcare and industry ready to be mobilised in times of need. It鈥檚 been a privilege to work closely with our clinical colleagues and with doctors leading the Covid-19 response in China and Italy. This close contact has helped us to define the need and respond with technology that we hope will support the NHS in the weeks and months to come.鈥�

Professor Tim Baker (果冻影院 Mechanical Engineering) said: 鈥淕iven the urgent need, we are thankful that we were able to reduce a process that could take years down to a matter of days.

鈥淔rom being given the brief, we worked all hours of the day, disassembling and analysing an off-patent device. Using computer simulations, we improved the device further to create a state-of-the-art version suited to mass production.

鈥淲e were privileged to be able to call on the capability of Formula One 鈥� a collaboration made possible by the close links between 果冻影院 Mechanical Engineering and HPP.鈥�

Professor Michael Arthur, 果冻影院 President & Provost, said: 鈥淚 am very proud to see 果冻影院 in collaboration with industry and international partners make such a speedy and potentially life-saving contribution to the national interest at this time of unprecedented challenge for our country and so many others around the world."

Professor David Lomas (果冻影院 Vice Provost Health) said: 鈥淭his breakthrough has the potential to save many lives and allow our frontline NHS staff to keep patients off ventilators. I would like to pay tribute to the incredible team of engineers and clinicians at 果冻影院, HPP and 果冻影院H, for working round-the-clock to develop this new prototype. It is, quite simply, a wonderful achievement to have gone from first meeting to regulator approval in just ten days. It shows what can be done when universities, industry and hospitals join forces for the national good.鈥�

果冻影院H Chief Executive Marcel Levi said: 鈥淭his is a real team effort and I am proud of colleagues at 果冻影院H and our partners at 果冻影院 and HPP for their immense work to produce this device in such a short time. We hope this effort can be rolled out to hospitals across the UK to benefit all patients.

鈥淓veryone involved in this project should know that their efforts will have a truly significant impact on patient care.鈥�

Professor Bryan Williams, Director of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at 果冻影院H, said: 鈥淭his is a fantastic听example of collaboration across the UK life sciences and industry sector that could only have happened this quickly because of the partnerships the BRC has cultivated over many years.鈥�

Andy Cowell, Managing Director of Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains, said: 鈥淭he Formula One community has shown an impressive response to the call for support, coming together in the 鈥楶roject Pitlane鈥� collective to support the national need at this time across a number of different projects. We have been proud to put our resources at the service of 果冻影院 to deliver the CPAP project to the highest standards and in the fastest possible timeframe.鈥�

Andy Obeid, Chief Executive of Oxford Optronix, a small business that will manufacture the oxygen monitors for the CPAP devices, said: 鈥淏y working flat out and mobilising the support of every individual in my company as well as other small companies across the UK, we have accomplished something in five days that would normally take two years.

鈥淚 am delighted we have been able to design, develop, test and manufacture a bedside monitor that will continuously measure the concentration of oxygen being delivered to the patient and is ready for clinical trials.鈥�

Professor Yiannis Ventikos (Head of 果冻影院 Mechanical Engineering) said: 鈥淢echSpace is where we teach our students how to design, build and test simple and complex machines using state-of-the-art equipment and methods. In this phenomenal environment, our engineers were well placed to act with speed and create critical equipment that our hospitals need.鈥�

CPAP machines are routinely used by the NHS to support patients in hospital or at home with breathing difficulties. They work by pushing an air-oxygen mix into the mouth and nose at a continuous rate, keeping airways open and increasing the amount of oxygen entering the lungs. Invasive ventilators deliver breaths directly into the lungs, but require heavy sedation and connection to a tube placed into the patient鈥檚 trachea (windpipe).

*鈥楶roject Pitlane鈥� is a collective of UK-based Formula 1 teams and their respective technology arms coordinating a response to the UK government鈥檚 call for assistance with the manufacture of medical devices. It will pool the resources and capabilities of its member teams, focusing on the core skills of the F1 industry: rapid design, prototype manufacture, test and skilled assembly. F1鈥檚 ability to respond rapidly to engineering and technological challenges allows the group to add value to the wider engineering industry鈥檚 response.

For more information, visit the 果冻影院-Ventura breathing aids website.