CPAP breathing aid helping COVID-19 patients in over 15 countries

UCL Ventura - The low-cost breathing aid developed by UCL, UCLH and Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains - the UCL-Ventura - is helping to cut deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals around the world. The Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device, which helps to keep patients off mechanical ventilators, is quick to produce and easy for staff to learn to use, has been a lifesaver in countries ranging from the UK to Peru to India. Reverse engineered and manufactured in record time at the start of the pandemic, when both ventilators and CPAPs were in short supply, the UCL-Ventura model has now been supplied to around 130 hospitals in the UK and is in use in hospitals in at least 15 other countries. Over 500 devices have been manufactured for use in hospitals across Pakistan, while locally manufactured devices are also helping patients in countries including India, South Africa, Ukraine and Mexico. UCL-Ventura devices have also been supplied directly to Palestine and Uganda. Professor Rebecca Shipley (UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering) said: "This huge global uptake of the UCL-Ventura CPAPs shows the clinical need for a simple, low-cost device that healthcare workers can be quickly trained to use. We are proud to have built collaborative partnerships with manufacturing and clinical teams across the globe, and will continue to support these efforts in every way we can." CPAP devices were used extensively in the first COVID-19 wave in Italy and China to keep patients off invasive mechanical ventilators, and were able to prevent around 50% of patients from progressing to mechanical ventilation.