3 Mar 2021
New low-cost ventilator which doesn’t need electricity could help hospitals treat COVID patients
A team of engineers from Loughborough University has designed and built a unique low-cost, non-electric ventilator in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also simple to use and oxygen-efficient.
The ShiVent system was created to allow non-specialised workers to treat patients with coronavirus. It has been tested at Loughborough’s National Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM) and the Leicester Royal Infirmary Hospital.
Next month, a shipment of five units is being sent to Lagos, Nigeria, with more ventilators heading for Pune, in India, shortly after. Following trials in Lagos and Pune, the team plans to roll out the system in Sub Saharan Africa and Asia and is in the process of exploring opportunities in South America as well.
The founder and team leader of the project is Yusuf Bilesanmi, a PhD student at the School of Architecture Building and Civil Engineering. He said: "ShiVent is designed for under-resourced areas where mechanical ventilators are scarce and expensive, with unreliable electricity supply and limited specialist knowledge."
The ventilator has caught the attention of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Yusuf is in the running for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. A winner will be selected in July to receive £25,000, and three runners up will receive £10,000 each.
