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Over the last week the group has continued to generate ideas for the project. Inspired by aspects of our initial concepts, we went through several rounds of design concepts as a group. Each member presented their ideas to the other members of the group. As ideas were presented, questions arose which have proven to be beneficial in fully evaluating the function and utility of each design. With the generation of each design, we are finding that we may be able to anticipate complications that may arise during an emergency situation. Being aware of these scenarios, is a great asset in making the device more effective, efficient, and user-friendly. With each evaluation of the different concepts we have generated, our group gets closer to a final design for our product.

Here, we have a small representation of some of the design sketches that were developed more recently:

At present, the group seems to favor using a piston/cylinder to generate the air pressure required to force air into the lungs of the patient. The first two images above are currently the best representations of how such a system might be implemented in our experiment.

While we have been generating and evaluating various designs, each member continues to research topics of importance for moving forward with the design process for this project. The current areas of focus include:

materials and material standards for medical devices
standard or “off-the-shelf” components that may be incorporated into the design
pricing and specifications of similar products on the market
the maximum, minimum, and target pressures and volumes for adult human lungs
the necessary changes in delivery pressure when the device used in conjunction with an endotracheal tube

We narrowed down some likely candidates for materials that may be used in our design and looked over the ASTM standards for materials in medical applications as well as medical devices in general. Final material selection can be determined once we have come to a consensus on a final design. Extensive research reveals that there are no existing products exactly the same as what we intend to create; so we decided to compare to similar devices on the market. The group found that the prices associated with similar devices varied from $25-$300. Therefore, our target pricing for our design will ideally fall within the current range for similar devices. With respect to lung volume, we have found the maximum lung capacity for adults is approximately 5 liters. However, during ventilation, maximum volume is not necessary. From our research, we have found the normal volume of air delivered during one ventilation to be approximately 1 liter for adults. Based on other bag valve masks on the market, the maximum volume our device should be able to deliver is about 1.5 liters of air.

During the upcoming week, we expect to select our final design concept and begin to develop more specific details for the design, defining each of the components that will make up the ventilator. This will require us to look for various products on the market to see what is already available that we may be able to adapt for our design, and clarify what will have to be manufactured by the group.

Using a series of comparative techniques, we prioritized characteristics and attributes associated to our project. This led us to a clear definition of the problems associated with the project and their respective importance. As a group we came to a clear consensus of our problem statement:

Our design objective is to develop a product that will assist in the CPR process which will provide patient benefit and safety. In order to achieve this, our design will focus on an increased oxygen concentration delivery, minimizing set-up time for the care provider, and creating an effective seal around the mouth and nose to provide a pathway for the oxygen to be delivered.

Below is an in depth look at how we arrived at our problem statement for this project.