Development of a porcine model for the testing of the rapidvent emergency ventilator for the treatment of Covid-19

Womack, Sarah Anne

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120163 Copy

Description

Title

Development of a porcine model for the testing of the rapidvent emergency ventilator for the treatment of Covid-19

Author(s)

Womack, Sarah Anne

Issue Date

2023-05-05

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Wheeler, Matthew

Committee Member(s)

• Dean, Matthew
• Hurley, Walter
• Knox, Robert

Department of Study

Animal Sciences

Discipline

Animal Sciences

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• COVID-19
• Sars-CoV-2
• pandemic
• ventilator
• porcine
• animal model
• Sus scrofa
• RapidVent

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought forward the need for rapidly producible and affordable ventilators due to widespread incidence of respiratory distress, which led to a desperate need for mechanical ventilators. To meet this need, a team was assembled to design a gas-powered emergency ventilator, named RapidVent. The interdisciplinary team designing RapidVent based the design off commercially available ventilators and used additive manufacturing to rapidly produce a prototype that was tested for over two million cycles (https://rapidvent.dev.engr.illinois.edu). Once the prototype was designed and its functions were confirmed, it was ready to be tested in animals. The pig (Sus scrofa) is well-studied for biomedical instrument testing, but ventilator testing using a live, healthy animal has not been explored. Three tests were performed to determine if RapidVent would work with a live subject and to see if adding weight to the ribs of a laterally recumbent animal could simulate labored breathing. The first was a pilot study to determine if the prototype would function while connected to a patient that is breathing on their own. The second test was used to determine if the device could withstand continuous extended use. The third test was to determine if the control parameters of the RapidVent prototype could be adjusted to control the physiological parameters of the pig. The RapidVent Emergency Ventilator withstands continuous use over an extended period and allows for the control of physiological parameters of the pig. Weight added to the ribs of the animal may be a viable model for labored breathing with more evidence.

Graduation Semester

2023-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2023 Sarah Womack

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