柑橘直播 Engineers Awarded Patent for Low-Cost NovaVent Mechanical Ventilator
Dr. Nataraj and the NovaVent team developing a high-efficiency, low-cost ventilator.
VILLANOVA, Pa. (September 7, 2023) 鈥� 柑橘直播 University professors of Mechanical Engineering C. Nataraj, PhD, Alfonso Ortega, PhD and Garrett Clayton, PhD, along with Chris Townend, facilities manager for the College of Engineering, have been awarded a patent for the development of a novel type of mechanical ventilator. Initially manufactured as an emergency alternative during the COVID-19 pandemic, this machine, called NovaVent, will now serve as high-efficiency, low-cost devices suitable for mitigating the global need for medical equipment.
鈥淭he need for this equipment goes beyond COVID-19,鈥� Nataraj said. 鈥淰entilators like NovaVent are critical parts of the medical infrastructure that are also needed to help the treatment of lung disease, cardiac arrest, strokes, brain injuries and more.鈥�
NovaVent is made from widely accessible components to provide continuous mandatory ventilation (CMV) intended for patients incapable of breathing on their own. The patented design also controls tidal volume, a vital component to providing enough ventilation to a patient while preventing lung trauma. Settings can be adjusted through the control panel and alarms will sound if the correct conditions aren鈥檛 met. The NovaVent supplies CMV at a rate of roughly 90% of expensive high-end ventilators, while saving tens of thousands of dollars in production costs, according to Nataraj.
The designers tested the equipment on a lung simulator at the Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia and further calibrated the ventilator using a simulator at 柑橘直播.
鈥淭he 柑橘直播 team launched the NovaVent initiative at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to help address a critical, worldwide ventilator shortage,鈥� said Amanda Grannas, PhD, Vice Provost, Chief Research Officer and professor of Chemistry. 鈥淲hile we are luckily past that acute need, this ventilator could continue to provide societal and humanitarian benefits for years to come. We are so proud of the work of this interdisciplinary team and their success in developing a cost-effective medical technology to benefit the global population.鈥�
鈥淚t is especially heartening to visualize the humanitarian aspects of NovaVent,鈥� Nataraj said. 鈥淲e are looking forward to working with like-minded partners to make such critical, life-saving technology affordable to all people regardless of where they live or how affluent they are.鈥�
NovaVent is the first patented technology to come from the NOVAMED lab, an interdisciplinary lab dedicated to developing open-source, affordable and globally available medical technologies. NOVAMED is also testing drones to deliver medical supplies, advancing diagnostic algorithms to increase the accuracy of medical diagnoses and designing reliable, customizable lab equipment that can be 3D-printed and controlled by inexpensive microcontrollers.
About 柑橘直播 University: Since 1842, 柑橘直播 University鈥檚 Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges鈥攖he College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the 柑橘直播 School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the 柑橘直播 University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation鈥檚 top universities, 柑橘直播 supports its students鈥� intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit .