Ventilator News and Research

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Palliative care helped family face ‘the awful, awful truth’

Seattle mourned the news: Elizabeth and Robert Mar died of COVID-19 within a day of each other. They would have celebrated 50 years of marriage in August.

5 May 2020

Meditation combined with aerobic exercise reduces stress in medical students

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School student Paul Lavadera expected his career would put him on the front lines of dealing with medical emergencies.

4 May 2020

New antibiotic fights drug-resistant bacteria without notable toxic side-effects

Through serendipity, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health considerably reduced the toxicity of a potential antibiotic against the most feared drug-resistant bacteria, while also improving its stability in fighting infections.

4 May 2020

FDA approves SFU professor's invention to wean COVID-19 patients from ventilators

Simon Fraser University professor Andy Hoffer hopes the SFU spinoff company he founded, Lungpacer Medical Inc., will help save the lives of COVID-19 patients using mechanical ventilators--and get them off more quickly, so that more ventilators can be available for all critically ill patients.

4 May 2020

High blood pressure drugs found to be safe for COVID-19 patients

Despite concerns expressed by some experts, common high blood pressure drugs did not increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 - or of developing severe disease - in a study of 12,594 patients.

3 May 2020

Long-lasting, low toxicity antimicrobial peptide fights 'superbug' lung infections

Researchers considerably reduced the toxicity of a potential antibiotic against the most feared drug-resistant bacteria.

1 May 2020

Researchers retrofit diving snorkel mask to make reusable PPE

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 reports an innovative adaptation of a standard snorkel mask with a few custom-built parts and a filter, for use by hospital personnel as a reusable protective mask.

30 Apr 2020

New clinical trial to assess whether hypertension drug may reduce COVID-19 severity

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have launched a clinical trial to investigate whether a drug approved for treating high blood pressure, heart failure and diabetic kidney disease might also reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections, lowering rates for intensive care unit admissions, the use of mechanical ventilators and all-cause mortality.

30 Apr 2020

New low-tech ventilator could be a game-changer during COVID-19 pandemic

A research collaboration and ensuing friendship between a trauma surgeon in Oregon and a handful of engineers in Florida has resulted in a new ventilator design that requires no electricity and could be a game-changer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

30 Apr 2020

UK-based biotechnology firm discovers potential treatments for Covid-19

A UK-based biotechnology firm has announced the discovery of two separate novel treatments for Covid-19 patients before they are put on ventilators. They are now urgently seeking funding of £4m to accelerate safety studies and clinical trials.

30 Apr 2020

Fear of coronavirus propels some smokers to quit

In 40 years of smoking, Katie Kennedy has tried four times to quit but always went back to cigarettes. Today, she is summoning a new mental image when a craving comes on: rows of COVID-19 patients hooked to ventilators.

30 Apr 2020

New guidance statement for treating stroke patients in the era of COVID-19

In an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and to optimize allocation of healthcare resources, researchers are improving ways to treat patients with acute large vessel occlusion strokes in a safe manner that also better protects health care workers.

29 Apr 2020

Critical Care experts share roadmap for meeting challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic

Hospitals facing a growing population of COVID-19 cases need a coordinated approach with a multidisciplinary team to increase efficiency, conserve PPE and protect staff.

29 Apr 2020

How hospitals can prepare for an influx of COVID-19 cases

Hospitals and healthcare systems worldwide are overwhelmed, with many facilities full of patients requiring emergency care for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 disease causes severe respiratory illness in patients, with some needing mechanical ventilation.

28 Apr 2020

UTHealth experts successfully treat 3-week-old infant with severe COVID-19

In one of the first reported cases of its kind, a 3-week-old infant in critical condition recovered from COVID-19 due to rapid recognition and treatment by physicians from McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston/

28 Apr 2020

India to deploy homegrown tech against COVID-19

When India's 1.3 billion people come out of a 40-day lockdown on 3 May, imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, they can hope that a battery of technologies that the government is readying to deploy against the contagious virus could offer them some protection.

28 Apr 2020

New device combined with mechanical ventilation can help improve treatment outcomes for COVID-19

A device designed at the University of Pittsburgh could help improve outcomes as a treatment for COVID-19 when used in conjunction with non-invasive or mechanical ventilation, and it recently received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

28 Apr 2020

Researchers develop new ICU ventilator prototype to fight against COVID-19

Researchers and technicians from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the University Hospital Gregorio Marañón have designed and developed a new ventilator prototype for Intensive Care Units in the fight against the health crisis caused by COVID-19.

27 Apr 2020

A novel approach to reuse medical devices during COVID-19

Shortages of medical supplies such as ventilators, face shields and masks has been a recurring problem during the COVID-19 pandemic and production has struggled to keep up.

27 Apr 2020

Free open source hardware could be used to fight against coronavirus

Free open source hardware and 3D printing could help to alleviate the burden of Covid-19 on global health systems, according to scientists at the University of Sussex.

27 Apr 2020