Professional Reflections
MDXPD Alumnus Develops Open-Source Ventilator Darren Lewis, Design Manager at Dyson, has developed a ventilator using simple technology, suitable for treating Covid-19 victims in under-resourced countries and in crisis situations // 29 July 2020
Darren Lewis, who studied BSc Product Design Engineering at MDX and went to work at Dyson, most recently in the New Concepts team, heard about the UK's Ventilator Challenge in the early stages of tackling the pandemic. "I thought what was needed was a device that was as simple as possible, using readily available parts while meeting requirements" he says. His ambition was to create "something that can be manufactured anywhere in the world. You can’t design anything from scratch with any complexity as that will slow down development". He brought together a team of volunteers as OpenVent-Bristol. The design is based on an Ambu bag/BVM bag
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PRODUCT DESIGN Middlesex University School of Science and Technology
resuscitator (which is cheap and already medically certified for manual ventilation), activated by a mechanical arm powered by a motor. It has a battery back-up to keep operating when mains power is cut. The prototype was first trialled on a test lung at the National Physical Laboratory in May. 24/7 life tests were conducted earlier this month, and the team is now working on perfecting the design for final testing in a few weeks. Volunteer engineering incubator Helpful Engineering, which formed in March in response to the crisis and now has around 2500 active members in 20 countries, backed Darren's team's design over an in-house alternative. Working swiftly and decisively, in the style of pre-existing
Engineers Without Borders networks, "we saw Darren's solution was working better and faster, so we went in to support him" says Helpful's ventilator lead, Tim Artz. They were also particularly impressed with the openness of Darren's approach. The project is seeking regulatory approval from the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration), one of the more stringent global processes, with the help of regulatory and legal experts in Helpful's network. Once over this hurdle, the device could be fast-tracked for approval by other countries. Helpful Engineering is engaged with local groups in Latin America around possible take-up for the ventilator, and
