Designers challenged to develop ventilator in 8 weeks to aid patients suffering from effects of COVID-19

Photo: CoVent-19 Challenge

The CoVent-19 Challenge is the brainchild of residents at Massachusetts General Hospital looking to increase the supply of ventilators available to fight the coronavirus.

“Our goal is to rapidly expand the capacity of hospitals, by expanding our current ventilation abilities, in order to survive the peak of this pandemic,” states the group’s website. The shortage of ventilators in the United States alone is expected to run into the hundreds of thousands.

The challenge will have two rounds. CAD assemblies for the ventilator must be submitted by May 1. Participation in round two is by invitation only. Competitors in this round have from May 5-27 to submit a functional prototype that meets specific performance metrics. The winner will be announced June 1.

The official invitation to participate will be posted April 1 on the GrabCAD Challenges platform.

The hosting sponsors of the CoVent-19 Challenge are Stratasys and Ximedica, a designer and developer of medical devices and diagnostic equipment.

Stratasys will co-host the design process and prototyping phase. Ximedica will align with regulatory agencies to take the winning device through the necessary safety and regulatory testing, thereby ensuring compliance with national and international standards.

Additionally, Stratasys, GrabCAD, and Valispace will provide participants free software for the challenge.

For the second round, invited teams will be provided free rapid-prototyping assistance.

Three prizes totaling $10,000 will be awarded:

First Place: $6,500 Stratasys Direct Manufacturing.

Second Place: $2,500 SDM credit.

Third Place: $1,000 SDM credit.

The sponsors of the challenge are in discussions with manufacturers and distributors to deliver the final winning ventilator to patients around the world.