The COVID-19 pandemic is testing the limits of our healthcare system with an unprecedented number of patients falling ill at the same time. Ventilators (i.e., the machines that allow patients to breathe when they are unable to do so on their own) are in short supply across the country because the average COVID-19 patient requires ventilation for 14 days.. This has largely exhausted the capacity of hospitals’ traditional ventilators, however states are working quickly to increase the supply. With that said, having a backup plan is paramount. Under Emergency Use Authorization, the FDA has permitted the use of home BiPAP machines as ventilators.

There are now thousands of these types of BiPAP machines that have been donated across New York state. For the last three weeks at Mount Sinai Health System under the direction of Charles Powell M.D., a large multi-disciplinary team of clinicians, researchers, and various experts have worked together to develop a ventilator breathing circuit using the Resmed VPAP ST. Because this has never been done before, we were forced to use spare parts used by respiratory therapists that are already in high demand. Previous efforts to repurpose BiPAP machines have relied on multi-part conversion systems that limit their scalability and ease of use. Many parts are not adequately stocked (particularly the Bipap tubing) or have national and international supply chain concerns. This was forcing hospitals to scramble and compete for parts

Inspired by the original circuit concept, Mount Sinai Anesthesiology residents, along with the guidance of our colleagues from the Mount Sinai BiPAP team, The Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, the help of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), and private industry, have designed a medical device that utilizes readily available anesthesia circuits to transforms BiPAP machines into a functional ventilators. Because hospitals and surgical centers have abandoned performing elective surgeries, there is an abundance of anesthesia circuits already in stock across the country not currently in use. The simple design of our device will allow us to mass produce tens of thousands of parts very quickly. There are many models of BiPAP machines that will work with this circuit including the Resmed VPAT ST, The Dreamstation from Phillips, and many other home BiPAP machines.

Our technology has the potential to have an incredible impact on the COVID-19 pandemic, as it allows hospitals to instantly expand their capacity to treat patients by merely operationalizing equipment they already have.