INTEC and Ministry of Public Health sign agreement for the production of 100 mechanical fans
SANTO DOMINGO. -El Instituto Tecnológico De Santo Domingo (INTEC) and the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) signed a collaboration agreement for the manufacture of 100 mechanical fans or Ambu (Airway Mask Bag Unit, in English) to help alleviate the needs of the Dominican health system in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agreement, which was signed by the Minister of Health, Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas and by the President of INTEC, Rolando M. Guzmán, establishes that the Ministry will provide INTEC with funds for the manufacture of said fans, which will be distributed by the Ministry to the centers. of the country that require them in order to help the treatment of patients with COVID-19.
During the signing, the minister stated that ventilators would serve to limit the number of patients who face critical respiratory problems. He also highlighted that the agreement is a sample of the way in which the academy joins the public sector to solve a problem of such significance, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the president of INTEC stressed that the fans contemplated in the agreement will join another 100 units that INTEC is financing with resources collected through donations from members of its academic community and other institutions, and another 100 units in progress with resources own for a total of 300 fans.
He added that other units could also develop through contributions from other entities that have expressed the intention of concretizing their solidarity and social responsibility through this medium. Finally, he expressed satisfaction with the way in which the joint work of INTEC graduates, students and professors, together with others, has made this initiative possible, which is expected to save many lives.
"The ventilators, once delivered to the Ministry of Public Health, will not be sold or negotiated for pecuniary purposes," contemplates the agreement, while describing that the non-invasive equipment is designed to support the assisted breathing of a patient who is still conscious. and helping you reduce the effort required to breathe for a certain time does not apply to cases that require a mechanical ventilator tubing.
The agreement highlights that the respirator has been considered as functional after verifying that the equipment provides the benefits of the technical sheet for which it was designed. For tests of functionality and patient coupling, they were carried out in two aspects: the first, in a simulated and controlled manner at the INTEC Clinical Simulation Laboratories, and the second, was carried out on real patients at a health center in this capital, and at Marcelino Vélez Santana hospital, the latter supervised by the Minister of Public Health.
Technical aspects of the mechanical fan
The mechanical respirator or Ambu (Airway Mask Bag Unit or self-inflating bag for assisted ventilation) is a non-invasive equipment designed to sustain the assisted breathing of a patient still conscious, and help him to reduce the effort necessary to breathe for a certain time. The Ambu respirator manufactured by INTEC is based in part on the model of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) called E-VENT (authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, of the United States) and whose drawings were released as Open Source .
The mechanical respirator manufactured by INTEC has a pressure regulator, in order to control the appropriate pressures to avoid lung injuries; a tidal volume control, which allows it to adapt to different types of patients, both children and adults; a respiratory rate control, to auto couple with the patient; and an adapter for connection to an oxygen tank to mix the air with oxygen.
Over 4,000 face shields
In addition to low-cost mechanical fans, a team of graduates, professors and students from the INTEC manufacture in its laboratories face masks for health personnel, with the support of the Santo Domingo Mirador Rotary Club and other organizations.
To date, they have delivered nearly 4 masks to more than 70 centers across the country. Also, weeks ago, the INTEC Medical Simulations Laboratory developed a training program in epidemic outbreak management for personnel from the Ministry of Public Health.