A team at NUI Galway has designed a new system, which allows doctors to split the use of one ventilator between two patients.

It is hoped that this could help alleviate some of the pressure on hospital resources worldwide.

The Inspire Team is made up of experts from NUI Galway, Saolta Hospital Group and the medical technology sector in Galway. The new system allows doctors to safely split ventilation between two patients, while maintaining the ability to individualise the breath size and the pressure levels required by each.

This new system has been designed so that it can be replicated using medically approved ventilator equipment that already exists in most hospitals. It is being made available to health services globally here.

The design has been approached from the perspective of a COVID-19 patient. Their requirements can vary, but the team has ensured that the system allows for delivery of the correct lung volume based on each patient's requirements, which can be adjusted as necessary

"The team has come together mindful of the need for speed in developing and sharing solutions that can treat the COVID-19 pandemic. We are making our findings available to colleagues worldwide to help alleviate some of the pressure on hospitals challenged by a shortage of ventilators," explained the team's co-lead, Tim Jones, a commercial researcher and co-founder of SymPhysis Medical.

According to Prof John Laffey, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine at Galway University Hospital, there have been reports in other countries of intensive care staff having to choose which patients to offer ventilation support to because of a shortage of ventilators.

"This innovation will change that decision from one of having to decide which patient to provide this life supporting technology to, to allowing one to provide ventilatory support to both patients, buying time to allow one source additional ventilators.

"This solution developed in Galway is an important advance over others because it allows one to control key ventilatory parameters for each patient separately, which is really important for a severe lung disease like COVID-19, and it monitors each patient separately," he said.