Design and Development of a Robust CPAP Device for Respiratory Support

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging time that the mankind had experienced since the Spanish flue where there is no available treatment except supportive care. The patients with COVID-19 suffered from mild to severe breathing difficulties and respiratory support was the main reason of hospitalization. Ventilator is generally used for the respiratory support which mixes air under pressure with required oxygen concentrations. Invasive mechanical ventilator (IMV) is a complex computer-driven machine delivering positive pressure to the lungs via an endotracheal or tracheostomy tube to support full ventilation. IMV is very expensive and the operation requires specialist nurses. An alternative to IMV is a non-invasive ventilation (NIV) which was deemed necessary during the pandemic. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a NIV applied through a face mask and does not require specialist nurses. Due to low cost and simple operation, CPAP drew attention during COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents the design and development of a CPAP ventilation device. The designed CPAP is a microcontroller based electro-mechanical device for supportive care of patients with respiratory problem.