• Jeremy Zuckerberg, Mohammed Shaik, Keith Widmeier, Todd Kilbaugh, and Timothy D Nelin.
• The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Pediatrics, United States of America.
• Life Sci. 2020 Sep 15; 257: 118113.

AimsTo create a low-cost ventilator that could be constructed with readily-available hospital equipment for use in emergency or low-resource settings.Main MethodsThe novel ventilator consists of an inspiratory limb composed of an elastic flow-inflating bag encased within a non-compliant outer sheath and an expiratory limb composed of a series of two, one-way bidirectional splitter valves derived from a self-inflating bag system. An Arduino Uno microcontroller controls a solenoid valve that can be programmed to open and close to produce a set respiratory rate and inspiratory time. Using an ASL 5000 Lung Simulator, we obtained flow, pressure, and volume waveforms at different lung compliances.Key FindingsAt a static lung compliance of 50 mL/cm H2O and an airway resistance of 6 cm H2O/L/s, ventilated at a PIP and PEEP of 16 and 5 cm H2O, respectively, tidal volumes of approximately 540 mL were achieved. At a static lung compliance of 20 mL/cm H2O and an airway resistance of 6 cm H2O/L/s, ventilated at a PIP and PEEP of 38 and 15 cm H2O, respectively, tidal volumes of approximately 495 mL were achieved.SignificanceThis novel ventilator is able to safely and reliably ventilate patients with a range of pulmonary disease in a simulated setting. Opportunities exist to utilize our ventilator in emergency situations and low-resource settings.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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