Hospitals turn to snorkel masks to ease respirator overload
Published 4 hours ago on March 29, 2020
By Agence France-Presse
As hospitals face an overload of COVID-19 patients struggling to breathe, innovative medical staff are turning to snorkeling masks from sports stores to stop their lungs collapsing.
The idea started in Italy, the European country worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with hospitals in other nations taking note and adding their own specific medical parts to make it work.
One such is the Erasme Hospital on the outskirts of Belgium’s capital Brussels. It is attached to the city’s ULB university — and through it to a private spin-off, Endo Tools Therapeutics, whose know-how in 3D printing for medical use has proved invaluable.
“They are to be used for patients with severe respiratory problems. The aim is to avoid having to intubate the trachea of the patient and put them on a respirator,” said Frederic Bonnier, a respiratory physiotherapist at the hospital who also teaches at the university.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/hospitals-turn-to-snorkel-masks-to-ease-respirator-overload/