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Gauthier, who also has a Phd in respiratory physiology, first learned about the ventilator adaptation by watching a YouTube video put out by emergency physician, Dr. Charlene Irvin Babcock, in Detroit.
The hack, done by Dr. Alain Gauthier of Perth, is not perfect, he warns. But it has the potential to save lives as Ontario begins to see more severe COVID-19 cases. And that could prevent the kind of worst-case scenario seen in Italy in which doctors were forced to decide who would get a ventilator and who would die.
“We are planning for the worst-case scenario, having to put two people or four people on one ventilator.”
Gauthier acknowledges it is a “crazy plan,” but says the hospital has to prepare for the possibility now and not ten days from now.
Since the ventilator will be used “off-label” Gauthier said it could only be modified with permission of family members. But even with risks, it might be better than the alternative.
“The option is you have to decide which of the two is going to get a ventilator and which is going to be sacrificed. Or you can say we can give both people somewhat of a chance.”
From his tests, Gauthier believes the system will work, but only with selective patients — those who are about the same size, in similar medical condition and with similar lung mechanics.
originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: FredT
I can't imagine the alarms this unit would generate.
They must have done an over-ride of everything and placed it in a manual mode.