IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - July 2020 - 54

Society News

by Miklós Kozlovszky, Péter Galambos, and Tamás Haidegger

Mass Ventilator
System

Many people infected by the lifethreatening coronavirus could
be saved worldwide by a mass
respiratory system developed by a
team of Hungarian research and
development engineers, medical
doctors, and mathematicians in
recent weeks. The revolutionary
design of MassVentil could play
a particularly important role in the
global fight against COVID-19.

he MassVentil system, which
has been developed and tested in a laboratory environment, will be able to simultaneously
ventilate 10 people at the preclinical
stage, and up to 50 or more in the
future, while protecting health-care
professionals. "The new design is
modular, and relatively portable,
so it can be deployed and operated
even outside regular hospitals, in
emergency facilities, and temporary camps and halls," emphasized
Dr. Miklós Kozlovszky, associate
profe s sor at Óbud a Un iver sit y,
Budapest, Hunga r y a nd head of
the project.
The COVID-19 epidemic, declared
a pandemic by the World Health Organization in early March 2020, has
so far claimed the lives of more than

patients to be ventilated in a modular setup, saving more lives.
The system protects health-care
professionals by transporting the
contaminated exhaled air from the
common hospital space, unlike currently used ventilators. The new
equipment removes and filters exhaled contaminated air from the
common space, significantly reduc150,000 people worldwide, and still
ing the risk of infection for healthcounting. One of the key elements to
care staff.
treating patients with acute respiraDr. Kozlovszky highlights an importory problems is continuous ventitant factor in connection with setting
lation. Unfortunately, many of the
up temporary emergency hospitals or
pandemic victims didn't receive adcare facilities (Figure 2). Most equipequate level of care due to the lack
ment cannot be used without hospital
of medical ventilators.
infrastructure, such as wall-mounted air/
Not long ago, while the pandemic
gas technology or a continuous powwas advancing, Dr. Kozlovszky envier supply. The MassVentil system
sioned a ventilator
also was designed
that could be used
to be installed outfor several patients
side health-care
The system protects
simultaneously, i.e.,
facilities, without
health-care profesone central machine
advanced hospital
sionals by transportcould ventilate more
infrastructure, and
than one person at a
even in emergency
ing the contamitime (Figure 1).
camp environment.
nated exhaled air
The system could
The main -benefit
from
the
common
be set up to ventilate
of the MassVent i l
hospital space, undozens of people at
concept is that while
the same time.
currently used ventilike currently used
The Hungarianlators can only supventilators.
led project involves
port one person at a
international profestime, the new system
sionals, teachers,
consists of two main
and students from several universiparts: a central gas transport systies around the world who contribtem and patient-side specific units.
ute their expertise to the success of
The central inhalation and exhalathe development. The MassVentil
tion gas management allows more

MassVentil Initiative
The IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society is proud to announce its
support to the MassVentil initiative through a targeted Chapter Support grant
of US$2000. We wish the best of luck to the developing team and their partners.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MSMC.2020.2993355
Date of current version: 15 July 2020

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