Using the power of subsea engineering to tackle coronavirus

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted major sectors of economies worldwide and it is quite uncertain to bet on future prospects.

The impact of coronavirus can be severely observed in the international sphere as no country has been untouched from the wave of this pandemic.

This also added on more layer of complexity, as the world looks towards energy transition, making it uncertain in some geographies or sectors.

As the pandemic grew, governments worldwide launched industry calls as part of the drive to increase ventilator capacity.

Some of the biggest names in manufacturing raced to step up ventilator supplies to help protect and save lives throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Subsea engineering firm JFD also responded to the UK Government’s Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System call to manufacturers, to support the provision of essential medical equipment to the front-line NHS.

As the world leading underwater capability provider, JFD is at the forefront of hyperbaric rescue, along with being the leading supplier of diving equipment and saturation diving systems.

Since the global outbreak of COVID-19, JFD has worked around the clock, utilising its experience in developing breathing apparatus and life support equipment to design the best possible solution for patients, doctors and healthcare authorities around the world.

InVicto ventilator is said to be more advanced than CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) systems.

JFD has engineered the InVicto system, testing conducted in the JFD breathing laboratories.

The InVicto is suitable for deployment in many scenarios due to its flexible design. This could be in a pre-critical temporary ward or care home, providing an enhanced breathing ventilation aid that offers an improvement over CPAP treatment.

The system extends to full hospital ward capability providing full ventilation support with patient monitoring, breathing gas and O2 management and alarms.

JFD has designed the system with a specific focus on reducing the usage of O2.

For InVicto, it has applied its expertise in breathing gas reclaim systems for the offshore diving industry.

According to the company, InVicto significantly reduces the use of O2 compared with other ventilators available on the market.

Due to exceptional demand and logistical challenges in supply driven by the onset of the COVID Pandemic, JFD considered that O2 could likely become an increasingly scarce resource to provide at scale. Therefore, the design philosophy was to also produce a ventilator which operates with minimal O2 consumption.

At the heart of the InVicto device is a solid form mechanical logic flow device. This is lightweight and is powered by the breathing gas supply. It has no electrical or moving parts and no external power requirements.

This enhances reliability and means that it can be quickly deployed and redeployed to where it is needed most and used in continuous 24/7 operation for long periods.

On 28 April 2020 JFD was advised that the Cabinet Office was pursuing alternative invasive options to fulfill the NHS’s current demand for ventilators.

Offshore Energy – Subsea reached out to JFD to see what is next.

Alistair Wilson, a director at JFD, said:

“While we naturally hoped for the Cabinet Office’s support, we firmly believe that InVicto still has an essential role to play is saving the lives of patients with COVID-19.

“Uniquely, InVicto bridges the current treatment gap between the basic non-invasive CPAP machines and invasive ventilator systems, the latter of which have proven to result in high mortality rates following patients entering into Intensive Care Units.

“By treating patients with InVicto JFD can offer a wider level of step-up and step-down care for patients, resulting in reduced pressure on ICU units, and improved patient outcomes.

“There remains significant political and clinical support for InVicto in the UK and globally. We have had significant interest from other national health authorities where we are awaiting approval, following which we will be able to supply InVicto into hospitals and pre-clinical scenarios such as care homes (where there is an urgent need for advanced non-invasive ventilators) on a global basis.

“We will continue to work around the clock to ensure we gain appropriate and full regulatory compliance. As soon as this is achieved, we will pursue available routes to market, leveraging our worldwide contact network and expertise as a leading global life support organisation.

Cape Town-based subsea engineering expert, MMO, a Unique Group company, has also recently announced the successful completion of beta testing its inhouse-designed Uni-Life 100, a Non-Invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation System.

Developed in conjunction with the technical expertise and production support of Unique Group, the system has been specifically created to aid African authorities in their efforts to provide mass treatment to patients across the continent who are displaying COVID-19-related symptoms.

As one of the leaders in the manufacture and supply of diving and hyperbaric medical systems, the design and development of a non-invasive positive pressure ventilation system represents a significant step forward for the Group, in supporting regional governmental efforts during the pandemic through its B-BBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) entity, MMO.

With the initial production batch of 10,000 units planned, the Uni-Life 100 system provides a highly cost-effective solution which can be mass produced as a light-weight, modular and rapidly distributed alternative to other ventilator systems available, Unique Group claims.

The system utilises Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) architecture, incorporating a compact gas blending and supply system which provides a therapeutic mixture of air and enriched oxygen, adjusted to a patient’s requirements. The system includes an inflatable, transparent vinyl hood which is placed over the patient’s head, thereby allowing them to comfortably breathe the therapeutic air.

In addition to subsea engineering, others have also answered the call to utilise their expertise to help fight the pandemic, including marine renewable energy developers.

End-March this year, German wave energy developer NEMOS started a project in the field of respiratory ventilators to support Covid-19 treatments.

Within the non-profit initiative Breathing Aid, a design has been developed that can be realized at large quantities with available industrial components.

This initiative secured funding from the “Chancengleichheit” foundation and coordinated by Duisburg-based NEMOS and Mülheim-based NUMRAX.

The ventilator was designed according to findings from Wuhan and Italy, using a constant pressure (CPAP) in combination with oxygenation.