Imagine printing a three-dimensional piece of plastic that could help save a coronavirus patient’s life. 3-D printing is one solution proposed to address an expected shortage of ventilators, machines that keep patients whose lungs are severely damaged alive. Experts are expecting a shortages of ventilators as the number of people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic grows in the U.S.
Ventilators work through a breathing tube inserted into a person’s windpipe. The machine inflates the lungs with air and then deflates the lungs, removing carbon dioxide. A medical professional uses a computer to control the amount of pressure placed on the lungs and the amount of oxygen.
Coronavirus patients are at risk of pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, which has a high mortality rate. Dr. Suzanne Bennett, an associate professor at the UC College of Medicine and an anesthesiologist at UC Health, discussed the workings of ventilators.
A traditional ventilator costs about $25,000 to $50,000. Bennett said some of the “bells and whistles" on a hospital-grade ventilator help medical professionals operate the machine effectively, and reduce the workload for respiratory therapists. With a shortage, respiratory therapists would be spread thin.
“I think all of us are concerned with the safety of that patient in that situation,” she said.
December 2, 2020
UC is joining a nationwide study to examine the impact of COVID-19 on communities across the United States. The Community Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Study (COMPASS) is part of the efforts by the COVID-19 Prevention Network launched by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
December 1, 2020
Northern Kentucky businessman Carl Fox is taking part in UC's Trailblazer study and is telling his story to WCPO-TV, Channel 9. The TRAILBLAZER study aims to change the parts of a patient’s white blood cells that HIV latches onto, and is led by Dr. Carl Fichtenbaum, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
December 1, 2020
Donald Lynch, MD, assistant professor of cardiovascular health and disease in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, is partnering with researchers in Missouri and Georgia to create a smartphone app that delivers COVID-19 information tailored to Black communities.
