Safe Flight Instrument Corporation of White Plains, NY has developed and manufactured a 3D printed 4-way ventilator splitter.
Safe Flight has been in the aerospace sector for nearly 75 years. Operating in New York, Safe Flight was at the forefront of the coronavirus outbreak. Michael Lambton, a mechanical design engineer at the company, spoke to a relative working as a medical professional on the frontline of the pandemic who expressed the emerging need for additional ventilator capacity. Lambton brought these concerns to management which quickly deployed the vast resources of the organization to design a solution.
Working with a support team that included production, quality assurance, supply chain and engineering, Lambton designed a device, called the Quad/Vent Splitter, and printed prototypes that were successfully evaluated by two independent hospitals – all within two weeks.
“Having both the technical ability and support from Safe Flight made me feel as though it was my obligation to contribute in any way I could. The company’s ability to rapidly reconfigure its people and processes to tackle this dynamic problem has been nothing short of inspiring,” said Lambton.
The Quad/Vent Splitter can allow up to four patients to receive life-saving artificial lung ventilation using only one ventilator. It is designed with four independent ports which may be stopped using the tethered splitter plugs, allowing a 2-way, 3-way, or 4-way split configuration depending on the number of patients needing support. Upon receiving EUA approval, Safe Flight will deliver splitters to the hospitals that have been participating in the trials, as well as make the design available under license which will broaden the production capabilities to companies with more extensive 3D printing capabilities.
The Quad/Vent Splitter is undergoing approval under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) issued March 24th. The EUA addresses concerns relating to insufficient supply and availability of FDA-cleared ventilators for use in healthcare settings to treat patients during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).