Open source “pandemic ventilator” based on the Raspberry Pi
14 April 2020
A ventilator built with a simple Raspberry Pi, Arduino and off-the-shelf parts is being tested by a team of engineers in Columbia.
A ventilator built with a simple Raspberry Pi, Arduino and off the shelf parts (Credit: Marco Mascorro/Twitter)
A robotics engineer, Marco Mascorro, said he built the “pandemic ventilator” because he knew the machines were in high demand to treat COVID-19. In a recent tweet, Mascorro said he was “glad to see Elon Musk and Tesla working on this as well.”
He told the BBC, “I am a true believer that technology can solve a lot of the problems we have right now specifically in this pandemic.”
The design and computer code were made available online in March, meaning anyone can use or modify it.
According to the BBC, the ventilator will be put through a fast-tracked series of tests in Bogota – the University Hospital of the Pontifical Xavierian University and Los Andes University. It will ventilate a set of artificial lungs for five days running and, if successful, will be moved on to animal trials. The plan is to use mass-produced versions on real patients by the middle of the year.
Video courtesy of Marco Mascorro