Three dimensional printed circuit flow splitter for shared ventilation

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic and other mass destructions, hospitals were not prepared to meet extremely high demands for ventilator support. Clinicians have been particularly concerned about the shortfall for mechanical ventilators and attempts to ventilate multiple patients by a single ventilator have been made, with poor outcomes. Operational aims: The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, in collaboration with the National Technical University of Athens, School of Engineering, developed a patented, innovative 3D printed flow splitter, intended to connect both to the inspiratory and expiratory limbs of anaesthesia circuit, to simultaneously ventilate two or more patients. Results: Improvements to the initial design of the tube with insertion of built-in flow splitter (figure 1), was made with computational fluid dynamics simulations. The innovative design of the splitter ensures precision in pressure distribution on both lungs and, therefore, minimizes the risk for unexpected tidal volume reduction. The Y-shape tube splitter carries an internal smart valve, as seen on figure 1, which guarantees similar velocities on both limbs. Pendelluft phenomenon and Coandâ effect are abolished. From a more practical point of view, the splitter, reduces turbulent flow in anaesthesia circuit. Conclusions: The Y-shape tube flow splitter effectively maintained tidal volumes and dynamic pressures for two artificial lungs, under volume control and pressure control modes, on one, shared anaesthesia.