Cincinnati-Designed Ventilators On Their Way To Brazil And Beyond

Brazil, the second worst country in the world for COVID-19 cases, is getting some help from Cincinnati. The new non-profit Venti-Now will send ventilators there for free that it designed, built and tested in just three weeks. Tanzania is also on the list to get them.

Beginning the week of July 6, Blue Ash's PMC Smart Solutions will begin manufacturing the devices at its Indiana plant.

Venti-Now was started by a group of retired P&G scientists who were looking for a scaleable design to send to countries in need. John Molander and Art Koehler teamed up with scientists from the University of Cincinnati and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. They also included doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, attorneys and FDA experts.

The non-profit was looking for a way to make a safe, effective and affordable ventilator. Koehler told doctors in Tanzania, "If you can maintain a carburetor on a 1960's automobile, then you can maintain this product."

Here's how it works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws3GI-HIrYk

It uses a pneumatic cylinder to automatically fill a football-shaped bag, getting air to the patient, who is wearing a mask. Think: the bag, valve, mask concept used to transport patients but with automation.

Procter & Gamble and other companies and organizations are helping fund the effort. 

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