Team’s quick and simple fix turns ‘Nippy’ machines into ventilators
ENGINEERS, MEDICS and scientists have come together to develop a quick fix to turn a sleep apnoea machine into a ventilator to treat people with Covid-19.
A team in Leeds says there are thousands of so-called Nippy3+ devices around the NHS, with around 100 in Leeds alone. They are currently being phased out of service.
Engineers at University College London and Mercedes announced last week that they had successfully engineered a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device that had widely been used in China. The Leeds team says their modifications of the Nippy 3+ machine will complement this move and the specifications are being made widely available.
They said that the modification is straightforward and involves changes to the device’s settings and reconfiguring the supply of oxygen so it flows to the face mask worn by the patient.
The machine operates in CPAP mode, which means the pressure inside the mask is slightly raised, keeping the patient’s airway open and making it easier for them to breathe.
It provides enriched oxygen of between 40 to 60 per cent and, because it is a modification to an existing device, it does not have to go through a full regulatory approval process.
The project is a collaboration between clinical staff, engineers and physicists at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust (LTHT) and academics and technologists at the University of Leeds.
Dr Pete Culmer, associate professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering at the university and a member of the team, said: “Previously we had been looking at having to fit each machine with seven new components – and that would have required a system to manufacture those new components.
“Instead, the solution we eventually arrived at is much simpler. You have to change some of the settings, filters and the way oxygen reaches the patient.”