4000 dollar diy respirator

**Fixitfrank** · Apr 2, 2020, 07:31 AM

Thanks all. Here is the latest rev
I seriously could use some positive input
Thanks in advance
Stay Healthy
Fixitfrank

**Pa1963** · Apr 3, 2020, 01:08 PM

Interesting idea. I was thinking of something maybe with 2 bellows and a motor like that to work them up and down.

**Big Sexy** · Apr 10, 2020, 03:46 PM

I think you may be onto something here. It does need a lot of work though.
Now do not take this the wrong way, but I am going to share my knowledge and experience with ventilators and the more intricate things most folks are not aware of. First and foremost, the movement and pressurization of air is actually the easiest part of a respirator. The more complicated parts are going to be the control of volume, the rate at which the needed volume is introduced into the patient, and the rate per minute the patient needs, and perhaps the most complicated bit is the residual pressure a ventilator leaves in the lungs.
Lets start with the first, the volume. Everyone is different in regards to exact lung size. This means you need a wide range of volume adjustment or total amount of air or "tidal volume" to be exact. This is no small feat in itself because the tidal volume will change with each and every breath due to changes in patient physiology through their hospitalization (basically someones volume can change with certain illness over time, such as pneumonia or congestive heart failure or other situations where fluid is in the lungs). And the volume will change if the patient is fighting the ventilator and trying to breath on their own (which should never happen except when being brought back from a medication induced coma, but sometimes happens when sedation drugs are wearing off or the drip has stopped for some reason). If the volume cannot change as needed and forces too much air in, the lung(s) will pop. Something like 0.4 PSI is reaching a danger level of pressure before lung damage can occur. Less than 1 PSI is not much pressure.
Then we need to look at how fast we introduce all of that life preserving goodness is pumped in. My experience is 14 years of prehospital emergency care as a Firemedic, so I dont know too much about this, but do know it is a concern when setting up artificial ventilation. It needs to be fast and consistent enough to allow for full tidal volume to be introduced but also have to take into account the time needed for the body to exhale or exhaust the inspiration out. These new ventilators may actually handle that, I am not sure. In addition to the time to get the air in and back out, you have to do that between 12-20 times per minute for adequate perfusion to take place.
The last bit of technical marvel is new to me. My wife is a ICU RN and was telling about a feature that maintains a slight pressure in the lungs after exhaling. The does a couple of things, first it keeps the lungs from collapsing in on themselves and second is it helps to keep fluid from entering or pooling in the lungs.

I will say this about your invention, it has potential. Look into pressure relief, volume control and measurement, and unfortunately for doctors to use it today, it will have to be computer controlled unless you have a third world country in mind. I say 3rd world because many of those folks have experience in doing things for themselves without the use of technology to confuse things up. I have not met many doctors that have a mechanical know how like users of this forum have. So you will have to make a set of buttons to control each feature, and have a feedback loop to tell the doctor what is happening.

**Big Sexy** · Apr 10, 2020, 03:55 PM

I just watched your YouTube videos and now see your doing something different than I thought. It looks like you are making a supplemental external diaphragm. That is very interesting. How well does it work?

**Fixitfrank** · Apr 10, 2020, 04:51 PM

It is the strangest thing in the world to have a mixer draw air into your lungs, the first victim (mixer) was a casualty of the virus quest. That was the reasoning for the planetary chains.this is definitely anyone’s last resort, but if needed there are a lot of mixers, also if it were possible to assist someone before needing ventilation? By the time someone needs a vent it’s a bad day. But if everyone had fixitfranks breathing buddy maybe less would slide into needing a vent. I’m not a doc, but I go to the doctor, also I figured out that everything on the must be true. But I’ll tell ya this works. Stay healthy, and as usual I need some help

**Fixitfrank** · Apr 10, 2020, 07:42 PM

This is the breathing machine I was ripping on

**Floradawg** · May 2, 2022, 10:27 PM

Originally Posted by Big Sexy

I think you may be onto something here. It does need a lot of work though.
Now do not take this the wrong way, but I am going to share my knowledge and experience with ventilators and the more intricate things most folks are not aware of. First and foremost, the movement and pressurization of air is actually the easiest part of a respirator. The more complicated parts are going to be the control of volume, the rate at which the needed volume is introduced into the patient, and the rate per minute the patient needs, and perhaps the most complicated bit is the residual pressure a ventilator leaves in the lungs.
Lets start with the first, the volume. Everyone is different in regards to exact lung size. This means you need a wide range of volume adjustment or total amount of air or "tidal volume" to be exact. This is no small feat in itself because the tidal volume will change with each and every breath due to changes in patient physiology through their hospitalization (basically someones volume can change with certain illness over time, such as pneumonia or congestive heart failure or other situations where fluid is in the lungs). And the volume will change if the patient is fighting the ventilator and trying to breath on their own (which should never happen except when being brought back from a medication induced coma, but sometimes happens when sedation drugs are wearing off or the drip has stopped for some reason). If the volume cannot change as needed and forces too much air in, the lung(s) will pop. Something like 0.4 PSI is reaching a danger level of pressure before lung damage can occur. Less than 1 PSI is not much pressure.
Then we need to look at how fast we introduce all of that life preserving goodness is pumped in. My experience is 14 years of prehospital emergency care as a Firemedic, so I dont know too much about this, but do know it is a concern when setting up artificial ventilation. It needs to be fast and consistent enough to allow for full tidal volume to be introduced but also have to take into account the time needed for the body to exhale or exhaust the inspiration out. These new ventilators may actually handle that, I am not sure. In addition to the time to get the air in and back out, you have to do that between 12-20 times per minute for adequate perfusion to take place.
The last bit of technical marvel is new to me. My wife is a ICU RN and was telling about a feature that maintains a slight pressure in the lungs after exhaling. The does a couple of things, first it keeps the lungs from collapsing in on themselves and second is it helps to keep fluid from entering or pooling in the lungs.

I will say this about your invention, it has potential. Look into pressure relief, volume control and measurement, and unfortunately for doctors to use it today, it will have to be computer controlled unless you have a third world country in mind. I say 3rd world because many of those folks have experience in doing things for themselves without the use of technology to confuse things up. I have not met many doctors that have a mechanical know how like users of this forum have. So you will have to make a set of buttons to control each feature, and have a feedback loop to tell the doctor what is happening.

Man you sure know your sh**.