CPAP  Machines can be the Life Savior during COVID 19 Pandemic

What is CPAP?

CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure treatment and it means that a machine will force air, at steady pressure through the tube and a mask to your airways, and therefore keep them open at all times. This treatment is used for obstructive sleep apnea but according to the latest research, it can be used for treating COVID19 patients as well, in some cases.

Keep in mind that CPAP and a ventilator (a machine used for more severe COVID19 patients) are not the same things.The ventilator will breathe instead of you, while CPAP will help you breathe. Ventilators are far more expensive and can be very successful. However, in New York City, 90% of patients who were treated for COVID19 using ventilators didn’t survive!

CPAP devices are not very cheap. A decent model will cost you $1500 and for Bi-PAP machines, the prices will go even higher. This cannot be compared to ventilators which are extremely expensive. Sadly, during the pandemic in the United States and yes, this refers to right now, CPAP devices were hard to find. The same issue applies to their masks.

CPAP machines can be used for COVID19 treatment

According to Colleen Smith, a doctor from Elmhurst Hospital in New York City, CPAP equipment can be used for treating COVID19 patients.This cannot replace ventilators nor eliminate their need but can be helpful in several scenarios. The first one is for minor symptoms of COVID19 when you don’t have enough air and when blood oxygen level is under 93%.

The second case is when a patient will have to be on a ventilator at some point, but at the moment he or she doesn’t need it. Last but not least, CPAP can be used for patients who have come off a ventilator and they need help regulating their breathing.

In this case scenario, we must add that cleaning CPAP  equipment is even more important and it must be done more frequently to avoid spreading the virus. One gadget that can be helpful is PrimeClean. It uses ozone to clean the hose and a mask and it has 99% efficiency rate. Even more important is the ability to kill COVID19 virus and most other viruses and bacteria.

Making a CPAP machine for $200

Yes, it is possible and it can be very successful and productive. However, this machine is almost impossible to make at this moment.There are no manufacturers of smaller items and components such as hoses,blowers, humidifiers, masks, and more than the machine needs. As such, it will be mandatory to import those components from China. Even they don’t have all the ingredients so they will likely outsource to another country and so on.

The solution is to start businesses within the country that will allow companies to manufacture a complete CPAP equipment within the borders and not seek components in another country. Making these machines is simple and can be done using 3D printing, basic resources, and also injection molding which is already used for countless things.

It is important to add that the United States needs to consider this idea. CPAP therapy can be used for treating minor and medium in-complication COVID19 patients and it certainly doesn’t have a negative effect.With more machines of this kind, we would be able to save more lives, to help more people and also to make pandemic less severe.

The Final Word

If we were able to make CPAP Machine Masks, equipment and all other components in the United States, in or homeland, we would be able to decrease their cost, to make them more available and easier to get. In return, more hospitals and more individuals will be able to use them at home and at hospitals which can directly save more lives. It is a very simple task that requires time and nothing more.