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Keep Breathing: Fund Emergency COVID19 Ventilators

Ireland and the rest of the world is facing an extreme shortage of ventilators which could mean the difference between life and death for many.

According to HSE data, Ireland could end up with less than 1% of the number of ventilators required to treat the projected number of people who will become critically ill due to COVID-19.  With current projections forecasting over 6% of coronavirus cases becoming critically ill (source), the potential ventilator crisis could leave over 100,000 Irish lives at risk. 

In Italy, where the crisis is more advanced, doctors are struggling with an extreme shortage of ventilators – forcing them to make decisions about which patients live, and which patients die. Ultimately, many of these deaths could be prevented if ventilation equipment was available.

It is widely recognized among medical professionals that without urgent action the Italian situation will replicate around the globe.

The COVID Response Team (CRT) comprises a team of engineers, medical doctors, students and innovators. The directors of the Covid Response Team have made a formal commitment that all moneys raised from GoFundMe or from any other sources to assist with the battle to save lives during this pandemic will be spent in a manner that is consistent with what would normally be expected of a not-for-profit organisation. The CRT team has come together for the purpose of developing a new ventilator and its design will be shared with all competent manufacturers and the Covid Response Team will retain no IP in the ventilator design.  

Our mission is to design simple, fast and inexpensive-to-build equipment, which is straightforward for staff to operate, and which requires little or no supply chain such that it can be rapidly introduced to hospitals worldwide by local healthcare services.

We believe that no patient should be left to die because equipment is unavailable. Our focus is on creating a ventilator device, called the “Emergency Covid Ventilator”, which can be easily built and reproduced by anyone, anywhere in the world, with only a handful of very accessible materials.

While we are supported by some private donations, we urgently need funding to finish prototyping and testing of our solutions, to develop an easily reproducible design, and to allow teams anywhere begin  manufacturing of Emergency Covid Ventilators. As part of the solution we intend to provide training and instruction to healthcare workers and engineers around the world who wish to manufacture Emergency Covid Ventilators locally. 

We can’t stop the virus but we believe that with your support we can save the lives that otherwise would be lost. Our team are working around the clock to deliver but we do need your support. And we can keep breathing.

Spread the word with #KeepBreathing. 

Fundraiser organised by: Aaron Hannon (Twitter: @AaronDHannon, LinkedIn) on behalf of CRT. Fundraiser accounts managed by John J Flynn and Associates, Accountants, Harbour House, New Road, Kilcock, Co. Kildare.

Contact: [email redacted].

About Us

The Coronavirus Response Team (CRT) is committed to developing an easy to use and rapidly manufacturable ventilator to treat the vastly increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients requiring ventilation and the team will share its designs with all competent manufacturers. We are a multidisciplinary group from a range of diverse backgrounds including engineering, medicine, entrepreneurship, business and science. Our research and development is supported by consultant anaesthetists, engineering faculties and high performance engineering companies across Ireland and the UK. We continue to seek input from medical teams around the globe. If you are interested in assisting with our efforts, please see the Get Involved section.

CRT recognise that we are one of a number of teams around the globe working on an emergency ventilator and similar concepts. We have been in touch with several of these teams and looking forward to cooperating with like-minded groups driving for a common goal which is to equip healthcare teams so as many lives possible can be saved.

Get Involved/Get In Touch

Are you an engineer, healthcare worker, designer or otherwise willing to assist in the development or manufacture of Emergency Covid Ventilators?  

For enquiries or to hear more, reach the team at: [email redacted]. We endeavour to respond to queries as soon as possible. We are currently in the process of developing a website at
http://www.covidrt.com/, where we will post regular blogs and technical updates.

Technical Information

Ventilation is a complex procedure which requires clever engineering solutions. Our team has developed sophisticated design concepts which achieve this level of complexity using simple to assemble and manufacture designs. The Emergency Covid Ventilator design can be built and adjusted to meet the needs of patients requiring ventilation under several conditions in mandatory ventilation.

The Emergency Covid Ventilator system is designed to use the basic equipment available locally to healthcare workers and engineers around the world. Clinical evaluations and prototyping are currently ongoing. We will continue to update this page with relevant information as it becomes available.

Organisational Details

This fundraiser is organised by Aaron Hannon on behalf of CRT. I am based in Galway, Ireland, and am a member of the CRT team. The campaign donations will be directly withdrawn to a CRT group account to be used immediately for the purposes outlined above.  

CRT and fundraiser accounts managed by John J Flynn and Associates, Accountants, Harbour House, New Road, Kilcock, Co. Kildare.

In the event of surplus funds, we will be donating to a variety of charities affected by COVID19.
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Donations 

  • Stephanie Smith
    • €24 
    • 3 yrs
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Fundraising team: COVID Response Team (2)

Aaron Hannon
Organizer
Raised €12,751 from 265 donations
Emily Wallace
Team member
Raised €1,891 from 47 donations
This team raised €135,157 from 3242 other donations.

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