Intubated man lying on a bed in a hospital ward.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a shortage of ventilators in low income countries which the project aims to address.

An international team of scientists and engineers have been awarded a grant of £768K by UKRI as part of the Newton Fund’s Agile Response Call to develop high performance, low cost ventilators for use in low to middle income countries, it has been announced.  

Prompted by a shortage of ventilators in low income countries highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the HPLV project aims to reengineer a High Energy physics Ventilator (HEV) previously developed by Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) to create a highly effective, low-cost system that can be easily used in situations where access to reliable power supplies and oxygen may be limited. The system also aims to address the shortage of staff who are trained to operate ventilation devices in these countries, offering a web interface, accessible at local healthcare stations or via a mobile device to open up the potential for remote consulting and clinical training which is crucial for remote areas.

Building upon work by CERN the High Performance Low-cost Ventilator (HPLV) project brings together experts from the Universities of Birmingham, Liverpool and Rio de Janeiro with the Medical Devices Testing and Evaluation Centre (MD-TEC) at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) through Birmingham Health Partners (BHP).

The project team combines expertise in engineering and software development with in-depth experience of ventilator testing and regulatory requirements as well as front-line experience from clinicians in Brazil. The project will also involve business and innovation support from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the knowledge transfer team at CERN who will lead work to engage with potential industrial partners.

Professor Tom Clutton-Brock Director of MD-TEC at UHB and Deputy Director at the Institute of Translational Medicine at the University of Birmingham said: “MD-TEC is a purpose built medical devices testing and evaluation centre situated in Birmingham, UK. With a fully equipped, but simulated, intensive care unit, it has been heavily involved in many aspects of the UK’s Ventilator Challenge for the management of the sickest patients with COVID-19. With the equipment and expertise required to test ventilators from prototype to production ready, it is a privilege to be part of this exciting project”

Karl Dearn, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Birmingham said: “My colleagues and I in mechanical engineering are delighted to work with our international partners at CERN, STFC and our clinical and academic collaborators to develop this innovative low-cost respiratory ventilator.  Based on our Edgbaston campus, our engineering team, so close to our colleagues in MD-TEC,  means that we can be very agile in developing and optimising the ventilator, quickly and at low cost.  There is a shortage of respiratory ventilators across the globe, and this machine has the potential to fill this gap.”

Phil Allport, Professor of Particle Physics at the University and lead at the Birmingham Instrumentation Laboratory for Particle physics and Applications (BILPA) said: “Having been involved in helping CERN as a member of the “Support Panel” for the original HEV ventilator development I also chaired the International Review of the project back in April. The medical experts on the review confirmed this to be a really innovative design, with the functionality needed for ventilators not only addressing the current COVID-19 crisis but offering significant cost savings with respect to equivalent performance commercial systems.

“This funding gives us a great opportunity, with the original HEV team and STFC, to take forward this exciting development from CERN to meet the unmet needs (highlighted by the current pandemic) for ventilators and for training in their operation in many parts of the world where other respiratory diseases requiring ventilators continue to be major killers.

For more information please contact Sophie Belcher, Communications Manager, University of Birmingham, on +44 7815607157. Alternatively, contact the Press Office out of hours on +44 (0)7789 921165.

The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, and its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 6,500 international students from nearly 150 countries.

Founded in 2011, Birmingham Health Partners (BHP) drives the development of new diagnostics, drugs and devices by bringing together the renowned University of Birmingham and two leading NHS foundation trusts – University Hospitals Birmingham and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s. Its unique ecosystem enables the full spectrum of translational medicine: encompassing health data; an established local health system; academic excellence; and an extensive clinical trials capability.

For more information please contact Louise Stanley, BHP Communications Manager.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Birmingham Chest Clinic, Heartlands Hospital, Good Hope Hospital, Solihull Hospital and various community services across the region.

The Trust has regional centres for trauma, burns, plastics, neurosciences, dermatology and cancer.  It also has centres of excellence for vascular, bariatric and pathology services, as well as the treatment of MRSA and other infectious diseases. We also have expertise in HIV/AIDS, premature baby care, bone marrow transplants and thoracic surgery.

UHB has the largest solid organ transplantation programme in Europe and runs Umbrella, the sexual health service for Birmingham and Solihull. It is also home to the West Midlands Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre and a nationally-renowned weight management clinic and research centre.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is a Major Trauma Centre treating the most severely injured casualties from across the region. The hospital’s single site 100-bed critical care unit is the largest in Europe.

The Trust hosts the Institute of Translational Medicine (ITM) and led the West Midlands Genomics Medicine Centre as part of the national 100,000 Genomes Project.

UHB is also proud to host the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. The RCDM provides dedicated training for defence personnel and is a focus for medical research.

UK Research and Innovation works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish. We aim to maximise the contribution of each of our component parts, working individually and collectively. We work with our many partners to benefit everyone through knowledge, talent and ideas.

Operating across the whole of the UK with a combined budget of more than £7 billion, UK Research and Innovation brings together the seven research councils, Innovate UK and Research England. 

The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with 17 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to support economic development and social welfare, tackle global challenges and develop talent and careers. It has a total UK Government investment of £735 million up until 2021. The fund is managed by BEIS and delivered by UK and international partners.