SBIR Phase I: Electric Blower-Based Emergency Mask Ventilator for Simple Ventilation and Monitoring During Patient Distress and Transport

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will significantly improve the safety and outcomes for patients in emergency situations requiring intubation, a process recognized as flawed, yet performed millions of times per year in the United States. This project will enable responders to use a lightweight, portable device that will decrease the time to stabilize a patient during critical situations by developing a new device to measure the patient’s tidal volume, or volume of air moved through the lungs in a ventilation cycle. With this measurement, responders will be able to treat patients more effectively, efficiently and safely. The resulting technology of this project will not only increase safety for patients and increase efficiency of medical responders, it will do so in a cost-effective manner, making it financially feasible for buyers to assure every patient has this life-saving respiratory support. The proposed project will further develop a device to measure tidal volume and deliver breaths using tightly controlled pressure levels and respiration rates. It will calculate and measure tidal volume, respiratory rate, and minute ventilation; furthermore, it will dynamically adapt to leaks and detect airway obstruction during emergency ventilation, providing instant and accurate feedback to responders and avoiding any possible injury to the patient. In this Phase I project we will extend prior research by building a compact device to be worn on the responder’s arm or in a sling. We will: 1) build and test smaller electronics and sensors in a prototype; 2) develop advanced monitoring algorithms; 3) conduct bench-tests on patient simulators to optimize the system; 4) conduct display and wearability tests. The end goal of this project is to provide an ultra-portable prototype that meets or exceeds the performance of ventilators normally used in intensive care unites, broadening the impact to all patients requiring lifesaving ventilation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.