Extension of Shelf Life for Perishables by Strategic Preparation and Application of Biodegradable Membranes

COVID-19 has impacted us with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and to tackle this endotracheal intubation is one of the most common procedures. Non-invasive ventilation is another option that is attractive due to the lesser discomfort to the patient. The face mask is one means of non-invasive ventilation which only covers the patient’s nose and mouth. In contradistinction, the helmet based ventilation covers the entire head of the patient with an airtight neck seal. It has been reported that helmet based ventilation can lessen the number of patients needing intubation with a ventilator machine. There are also reports that ventilation based on a helmet is cost-effective in the long run. This paper describes a helmet based system for ventilation that has been designed with readily available materials and processes so that they can be made in hospitals or other places providing patient care. The prototype developed has been tested using an experimental setup. The design of the bubble helmet steps to prototype the same, materials used along with the validation results of the bench-top test are reported here. This device can be easily manufactured in large numbers to provide respiratory support to the ARDS patients through gas lines available in the hospital without requiring costly ventilators. © (2020) Society for Biomaterials & Artificial Organs.