Once fully developed and cleared for use, the new VentilAid ventilator could provide critical breathing support for Covid-19 patients, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
While the device is not intended to replace a professional medical respirator, it could come in useful in countries where healthcare systems are struggling to cope with a surge of coronavirus infections, the Polish state news agency said.
It quoted Szymon Chrupczalski, one of the designers behind VentilAid, as saying that the device, which has yet to undergo clinical tests, is based on simple and inexpensive components.
It can be produced using a 3D printer, with the total cost estimated at around about PLN 200 (EUR 43, USD 47), according to Chrupczalski.
The design, by a team of engineers from the Kraków-based Urbicum company, has been made available for free online at ventilaid.org.
The designers have appealed to doctors, hospital staff and 3D printing experts to help upgrade the device as countries around the world battle to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
(gs/pk)
Source: PAP
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