Future Foundation develops ventilator
M061 prototype was designed and developed in eight weeks
Dubai Future Foundation has launched a prototype ventilator called M061, to help during the coronavirus pandemic.
Khalfan Bel Houl, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, said the project was implemented to address an urgent need for ventilators.
Earlier Shaikh Hamdan had said the development of the ventilator is part of the country’s efforts to deploy breakthrough technologies in the fight against Covid-19 and to enhance its health care capabilities. Within the context of the intense pressure global supply chains face as a result of restrictions in different countries, the M061 Project serves as a response to calls for local ventilator production to meet the needs of the UAE population.
This project is a partnership between Dubai Future Foundation, Office of Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Dubai Covid-19 Command and Control Centre, Ministry of Health and Prevention, Dubai Health Authority, Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, as well as government agencies, research centres and international institutions.
The team that developed the mechanical ventilator comprises of an interdisciplinary team of local and international engineers, programmers, industry experts and health care specialists. They developed the ventilator in eight weeks as a modular and scalable prototype, relying on easy to source components.
The prototype could provide oxygen to patients for longer periods and efficiently adapt to changes in vital indicators such as blood pressure, heart rate and temperature.
It will also address the individual needs of patients by delivering multiple modes of ventilation in the pressure and volume mode families.
The prototype, which consists of a mechanical airway made of tubes, fitted with various valves, sensors and filters, is capable of providing invasive and non-invasive mechanical respiratory assistance. It has a custom printed circuit board (PCB), and facilitates easy interface with various types of devices.
A typical ventilation process is a cycle of precisely controlled inhalation and exhalation phases. During the inhalation phase, the ventilator takes in air and compressed oxygen, and blends them in a mixing chamber to achieve the required oxygen concentration for the selected ventilation mode - normally between 21 per cent and 100 per cent. This mixture is then released into the patient’s lungs according to a specific ventilation profile.