Afghan girls try building ventilator from car or truck parts
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A team of robot-designing girls in Afghanistan is wanting to build a low-cost medical ventilator from car parts, as health authorities turn to boost critical-care capabilities for coronavirus patients in the impoverished country.
If the teenagers succeed and can get government approval because of their prototype, they say it may be replicated for less than $300, where normally ventilators sell for around $30,000.
"The team is dealing with local health specialists, as well as professionals from Harvard University, to produce the prototype based on a design by Massachusetts Institute of Technology," said Roya Mahboob, who runs an Afghan tech company and sponsors the team of five girls, aged 14-17.
They are part of a bigger band of high-achieving high school girls known as the "Afghan Dreamers", from the western city of Herat, where coronavirus is increasing after thousands of individuals returned from neighboring Iran as it experienced a spike in cases.
The girls made headlines in 2017 after being denied visas to take part in a robotics competition in Washington -- before President Donald Trump intervened and they were permitted to travel.
They are taking engine and battery parts from a Toyota Corolla -- ubiquitous on the streets of Afghanistan -- to make a prototype they started designing following the Herat governor called for more ventilators as coronavirus cases rose.
Central to the ventilator is a self-inflating plastic sac called an Ambu bag that medical staff use to help patients breathe. The girls' prototype runs on the mechanical system to operate the bag automatically and accurately.
"The complicated part is how to adjust the timing and pressure of pumping, as different patients require different volume and pressure of air predicated on their age and the severity of their condition," Somaya Farooqi, the team's 17-year-old captain, told AFP.
With a population of 35 million, Afghanistan only has about 300 ventilators.
Wahidullah Mayar, a spokesman for Afghanistan's health ministry, said officials have asked professionals and engineers to greatly help the team.
"We appreciate and inspire these hardworking girls, our sisters, because of their efforts to produce ventilators," Mayar said.
Any ventilator prototype would have to be approved by the World Health Organization and the Afghan health ministry prior to the team could start generating more devices, Mayar said.
As of Wednesday, Afghan officials had reported at least 784 coronavirus cases and 24 deaths in the united states. The true number of instances is feared to be higher, as only limited testing kits can be found.
Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com