Design of Low Cost & Compact Ventilator using Proportional Solenoid Valves and DC drive

This paper primarily focuses on the design and development of a Low Cost & Compact Ventilator (LCCV) using Proportional Solenoid Valves (PSVs) and DC drive. The PSV, a promising technological component, is used to control the inspiratory to expiratory ratio [I:E ratio] of the ventilator module. Low-cost and low power-consuming electronic products available in the market are employed to produce an efficient, effective, and affordable LCCV. The dual channel DC drive used in the LCCV consists of a pair of step-down DC-DC choppers whose output is connected to two PSVs to control the I:E ratio of the ventilator system. The PWM pulses generated by an Arduino microcontroller is fed to the gate terminals of the MOSFET switches of dual-channel DC drive through driver and opto isolator circuits.The duty cycle of the switching pulses of the dual channel DC drive is adjusted for fast dynamic operation of the PSVs. The inspiratory-to-expiratory (I:E) ratio can be set independently after assessing the patient's condition. A simulation of a dual-channel DC drive is carried out using MATLAB/Simulink, and the results obtained are consistent with the embedded hardware output of the LCCV module. Bluetooth technology is employed to test the functionality of a test lung with ventilator module, which replicates the behaviour of human lungs. The expansion and contraction, as well as the fast dynamic operation of the test lung are found to be controlled efficiently according to the I:E ratio and duty cycle settings of the LCCV module. The designed module is more affordable, operationally effective, and efficient than similar ventilator models on the market, making it ideal for launch with significant benefits for patients, especially in rural areas and ambulance systems.