NE HEALTH BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, APRIL 20
Bracing itself for a possible COVID-19 challenge of epic proportions, the Institute of Kidney Diseases & Research Centre (IKDRC) or Kidney Hospital on Monday announced that it has developed a four-way ‘multiplexer’ to augment the capacity of existing ventilators multifold.
Indigenously designed and developed by IKDRC, four-way ‘multiplexer’ splits oxygen supply from a single-source ventilator to four patients through inspiratory limbs simultaneously. Similarly, expiratory limbs take back exhalation and merge into another set of ‘multiplexer’ fitted with HME filters which thereafter goes back to ventilator machine, a statement from the institute said.
“If there is a sudden rush of COVID-19 infected patients for ventilatory support, then use of ‘multiplexer’ increases capacity of machines available,” said Dr Vineet Mishra, Director, IKDRC-ITS.
According to him, ventilators with a higher capacity of tidal volume can provide ventilatory support to as many as eight persons from a single machine by adding an extra set of multiplexers.
“If not ideal, it is certainly a better ventilation support technique than manual AMBU bag resuscitators,” added Dr Mishra, saying that this technique has found favours with various hospitals in the United States to handle a surge in COVID-19 patients.
Elaborating further, he said that oxygenation levels and volume for all four patients could be maintained by adjusting the tidal volume level of the ventilator machine in use, without compromise on the quality of ventilatory support offered.
Dr Mishra said that in the event of COVID-19 infection, the virus severely breaks down red blood cells (RBCs) which in turn develop clots that further blocks alveolar of the lungs, a pneumonic condition. Such patients are required to provide 24-hour ventilatory support to fight back the pneumonic condition as long as the virus intensity remains high.
The idea to develop a homegrown ‘multiplexer’ was conceived after observing the trends and analyzing empirical data of COVID-19 infected patients for ventilatory support in intensive care units (ICU) across Europe and US-based hospitals, the statement said.
