HEV - High Energy Ventilator
Project description
The HEV ventilator can be easily manufactured and integrated into the hospital environment to support COVID-19 patients.In light of the importance of the pressure monitoring, the HEV ventilator will target pressure controlled modes. This will include: PC–A/C (Pressure Assist mode), PC–A/C–PRVC (Pressure Regulated Volume Control) mode, PC-PSV (Pressure Support Ventilation mode) and in addition a basic mode of operation: CPAP (Continuous Pos-itive Airway Pressure). The HEV design also provides PEEP (Positive End-Expiratory Pressure), which is not a ventilatory mode in itself but is designed to support steady low positive pressure to the lungs to avoid alveolar collapse. The PC–A/C–PRVC option adjusts the ventilator to provide a set the tidal volume at the lowest possible airway pres-sure. In the case where the tidal volume is not achieved at a particular pressure setting, due to changes in the patient’s airway resistance or lung compliance; this can then be gradually adjusted. All modes will allow the patient, when capable, to take spontaneous breaths, and all modes will assist the breathing when the spontaneous breath is taken, apart from CPAP which is continuous pressure.
HEV is a fully specified ventilator system suitable for hospital use, both in and out of intensive care units (ICU), for both intubated and mask/non-invasive cases. The pressure controlled modes outlined above are prioritised in view of their importance for COVID-19 treatment2. The pneumatic concept of the ventilator, i.e. ventilation provided via a pressure buffer, is close to those employed in the Amadeus Ventilator (Hamilton, 1994). It allows a precise and safe pressure control and accurate monitoring of flow rates. The step-down pressure design via the buffer puts safety up-front in the design. In addition to the COVID-19 official emergency guidelines, clinical advice has guided the main ventilator choices, prioritising in particular precise and stable pressure delivery, the simplification of ventilation modes, attention to the trigger timings, and a straightforward and familiar interface for clinicians. The design is cheap, rapid and simple to construct and the design choices prioritise low cost, readily commercially available components. The functionality is aimed at the treatment of the vast majority of COVID-19 cases. The availability of HEV as a ventilator option could free up the very high-end machines for the most intensive cases.
It is the goal of HEV to achieve a fully functional device which may be medically approved on a very short timescale. We note however that HEV aims to build a fully specified system, targeting regulatory approval regarding rapidly manufactured ventilator systems. Approval in countries such as the EU, Switzerland, or the US would allow this ventilator to be built and proposed to hospitals, and is also a key step towards unlocking the potential for faster approval world-wide. The design is adaptable to a wide range of geographic deployment, with local implementation and part choices depending on local requirements. HEV can be parametrised to address local needs such as alternative gas supplies or auto-clavable rather than single use parts, needs which are kept in mind throughout the design.
HEV will be available as an open source design. The ventilator’s schematics, PCB layout, mechanics and software can be downloaded, used and commercialised for free. The project is run by the HEV collaboration, a group of physicists and engineers affiliated with the High Energy Physics institute CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.
Conceptual design of the HEV - High Energy Ventilator
HEV Specification Standards
Throughout the design of HEV, issues such as the expected required performance, the safety and reliability are built into the thinking. Due to the mechanical concept of the system and the flexibility of the software design, there are some cases where we can build alarms, alerts, or safety mechanisms which go beyond the minimum specifications and guidelines. For the purposes, we arrange the description of the expected performance, safety, and alarm systems follow the next standards:
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WHO COVID-19 technical Specifications for invasiveand non-invasive ventilators
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Clinical advice: A number of clinicians and medical engineers form part of the HEV collaboration and are advising on the implementation.
Main Features
- Power options
- 110-230 VAC.
- Internal UPS (allows autonomous use of the system for more than 20 minute).
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Operating modes
- PC–A/C: Pressure Assist mode
- PC–A/C–PRVC: Pressure Regulated Volume Control
- PC-PSV: Pressure SupportVentilation
- CPAP: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
PEEP: Positive End-Expiratory Pressure, is supplied for all modes
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Control
- Human interface: touch screen.
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Design tools
- Mechanics:
- Electronics:
- Software:
Project information
- The HEV Ventilator Proposal
- HEV Discourse forum
- Official production documentation
- Certification
- Repository
- Video: CERN against COVID-19
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Software Protocols
Information presented at International Review
- Introduction to HEV Project
- Mechanical Prototype Design
- Electrical Prototype Design
- [HEV Software structure] (uploads/86ff8bd91ffc6ad94d9ceffe73557e77/hev_software_20200422_v2__1_.pdf)
- [HEV Regulatory aspects] HEV_documentation_regulations.pdf
Project news
- [*Project International Review])(https://home.cern/news/news/cern/international-review-high-energy-ventilator)
- CERN against Covid-19 news page
- [Nature Coronapod Podcast] (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01252-5)
- [CNN money broadcast] (https://www.cnnmoney.ch/shows/big-picture/videos/latest-discovery-cern-no-frills-covid-19-ventilator)
- LHCb Instgram
- LHCb Instagram
Releases
- Mechanics
- Electronics
- Software
Contacts
Commercial producers
- No commercial producers yet
General questions about project
Status
Date | Event |
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27-03-2020 | First demonstrator of HEV buffer concept working. |
03-04-2020 | Publication of The HEV Ventilator Proposal |
16-04-2020 | Development on-going. Review will be held on 23 April. |
23 April 2020