TAMPA, Fla. — A trio of recent biomedical engineering graduates from the University of South Florida is receiving national recognition for inventing a device that could help solve a shortage of ventilators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the university, Abby Blocker, Jacob Yarinsky and Carolyna Pinto created a device that allows two patients to be ventilated by a single machine. The invention was part of the team's senior design project.
The origins of the device lay with a few Moffitt Cancer Center researchers who submitted the idea to the class, USF said. Although there are devices that can split airflow between two patients, many do not allow healthcare workers to customize airflow to either patient.
That's where the Eucovent steps in which alternate between patients, delivering breaths to each person independently. The need for such a device became clear during the pandemic when hospitals struggled to provide ventilators for every patient. However, the students say the Eucovent's usefulness can go beyond the pandemic, being the perfect device for natural disasters.
Blocker, Yarinsky and Pinto took their device to competitions across the state and nation, winning tens of thousands of dollars in the process. USF says the students plan on publishing their work while they await patent approval for their device.