Wanna Know Why We Have No Ventilators?

Why do I click these stupid links? I always swear I won't do it and then I do. and I always see the same BS!

There's a headline decrying failure of government, a giant picture of Trump, and an article describing crap that happened during the Obama administration.
 
There's a headline decrying failure of government, a giant picture of Trump, and an article describing crap that happened during the Obama administration.

Yep, CBS got called out on it with an article about NY, with pictures of An Italian hospital.

The power of suggestion. Hoping the sheep don't read the actual article..
 
A clip from the article.

"Money was budgeted. A federal contract was signed. Work got underway.

And then things suddenly veered off course. A multibillion-dollar maker of medical devices bought the small California company that had been hired to design the new machines. The project ultimately produced zero"
 
Why do I click these stupid links? I always swear I won't do it and then I do. and I always see the same BS!

There's a headline decrying failure of government, a giant picture of Trump, and an article describing crap that happened during the Obama administration.
Lol that is the majority of the comments on the article as well...yahoo news=Democrats shill
 
To be fair there is some important info in there once you get past the propaganda.
 
People think stockpiling life saving medical equipment is simple. What they fail to understand, especially on ventilators, is that each piece of equipment must be tested, calibrated, and electrical safety inspected before it can be used on a patient. 10000 vents sitting in storage for years waiting to be used is a tremendous waste. Then the required skilled manpower needed to certify each of those units for patient use is another giant hurdle to overcome before they can be used.

Stockpiling clinical equipment is not a simple thing.
 
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Behold the Bird MK 8.
Most classrooms still have them. They probably cost less than $100 to make, and were used with success for almost 40 years.
Obviously doesn't have as much control or diagnostic capability as modern vents, but it would work in an emergency.

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Here's the one Ford is getting ready to produce. I use one of these weekly and there little to nothing to them. They are completely pneumatic with no electronics, just like the Bird.

If someone wanted to produce some vents, it's neither expensive or hard.

I serviced a few baby bird vents back in the early 90s. They were simple but they had a precision set of ruby bearings that controlled the rotating valve. Calibrating those things were time consuming.
 
I saw in an article the other day that Dyson of the Dyson company (vacuums) is making 10,000 for the british government, and he is tossing in another 5,000 out of his own pocket...gotta love those evil capitalists who never think of the little man
 
In a clinical setting, I believe every single device requiring electricity has to be safety inspected annually. In the lab, even our centrifuges & 'vortexer' plate used to mix reagents require it.
 
Electrical Safety Inspection for a pneumatic device?

Worked in engineering in a clinical lab. As Carl says, on top of all the day to day maintenance and validation, every-single-device has to pass routine licensed (re: $$$$) maintenance, calibration, and approval, and it gets a badge and digital and hard entry to prove it, that will be back checked by some certification personnel that could out stickle your mother-in-law. I can remember CLIA agents eating our ass up for having dismantled pipettes with no documentation sitting out in the open.
 
In an emergency would you rather die or use the machine that's not certified six times?

If the machine will kill you, do you want to be hooked up to it?
 
Electrical Safety Inspection for a pneumatic device?

If it has an electrical component, it must have an electrical safety inspection.
 
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Hook me up to a CPAP before just letting me play there and die because a vent isn't available...

If it's a CPAP in a hospital, it will have an electrical safety inspection sticker on it.
 
I'll bet a liberator style ventilator shows up on the web soon. 3-d printed and Arduino controlled. Wish I had paid attention to this stuff now.
Now that would be awesome! Of course the safety/certification issues folks have brought up might me tough to address, but still... :cool:
 
In an emergency would you rather die or use the machine that's not certified six times?

I get exactly what you are saying, but the better question would be to ask the hospital admin if they would rather have a non-certified piece of equipment out on the floor in direct violation of one of their many accredidation agencies. Threatening bureaucrats by peeling away bureaucracy will always be met with extreme resistance.
 
So, what would an electrical safety inspection actually inspect?

Nothing on that model. Still has to be calibrated and certified for volume, pressure, inhalation, etc.

It's been close to 30yrs since I touched one, so I'm probably missing a lot. The calibration procedure back then on a baby bird vents took close to 2 hours.
 
Second hand information so take it for what it's worth, Russia is currently informing the nation to stay at home and call the doctor once you have trouble breathing, A doctor will come to your residence and administer your care on the spot, comfort you at times until you are well or dead, no ventilators. Their form of capitalism in healthcare is a little more harse than our's but the end result is the same. Thank God we have the socialistic form of healthcare for emergencies even if it is too little too late. Maybe by the time the second wave of the disease comes we'll be full bore socialistic, at least until the virus is under control then back to the insurance game and to hell with socialism once more.
 
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I get exactly what you are saying, but the better question would be to ask the hospital admin if they would rather have a non-certified piece of equipment out on the floor in direct violation of one of their many accredidation agencies. Threatening bureaucrats by peeling away bureaucracy will always be met with extreme resistance.


This and the fact people in the US like to sue for any chance they can get so they are not going to use something not certified. They would rather blame someone else or not help before opening that can of worms.
 
Assuming I go to a hospital. If they're overrun what's the point? So I can die in secret with no information given to my family? No thanks...

Watching someone's lungs fill with fluid as they basically drown laying in a bed and develop cheyne stokes as well is not fun. Like watching a fish out of water flopping and gasping for air. As much as I agree I'd rather stay at home that's an image I'd rather not leave with my loved ones as to what I looked like when I passed.

Then there's the issue of having my body removed from the house. Who's to say there won't be incidents like Italy where it could take a day or two for someone to come get me. Either way this will situation suck for some.
 
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I get exactly what you are saying, but the better question would be to ask the hospital admin if they would rather have a non-certified piece of equipment out on the floor in direct violation of one of their many accredidation agencies. Threatening bureaucrats by peeling away bureaucracy will always be met with extreme resistance.

Right now there's a LOT of accreditation standards being held in abeyance until further notice specific to licensure and certifications. I imagine if the crap hits the fan in a surge, they will absolutely use a 'non-certified' piece of equipment.
 
A clip from the article.

"Money was budgeted. A federal contract was signed. Work got underway.

And then things suddenly veered off course. A multibillion-dollar maker of medical devices bought the small California company that had been hired to design the new machines. The project ultimately produced zero"

upload_2020-4-1_10-39-21.png

Everyone seems to forget how this turned the medical device industry on it's ear.
 
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