
Can one ventilation machine tube be split to two patients at the same time? - eloops
Seems like the biggest problem would be the lack of ventilation machines.<p>Is there anyone with some knowledge that can provide some information? Can we invent a &quot;split&quot; tube that will serve 2 patients at the same time?<p>I admit I have no knowledge but from very quick research it seems plausible..<p>Keep safe!
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jborichevskiy
It is possible, but to my understanding the risk is now that two people are
sharing the same air meaning any non-Covid infections have a red carpet laid
out for them to the other host.

Just from what I’ve seen on Twitter/Reddit though.

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eloops
Not sure why they would share the same air? Isn't "fresh" air used as input
and output air from each patient goes outside? Just a thought..

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jborichevskiy
Yup, that's about as far as my knowledge of ventilators goes. Hopefully
someone with more comes in here!

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eloops
Seems like it's officially being considered as an option:
[https://youtu.be/l3h9Z4u4icM?t=2078](https://youtu.be/l3h9Z4u4icM?t=2078)

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duskwuff
No. Consider that the purpose of a ventilator in a patient with compromised
respiration is to _support_ their breathing, not to fully take over for them.
The two patients wouldn't be breathing in synchrony, so a ventilator would end
up providing pressure that prevented one or both patients from breathing
normally, rather than supporting them.

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eloops
That makes sense but I think that it's still more plausible to solve a sync
problem than to double the amount of machines. If that's the case then maybe
the sync can be controlled somehow?

Maybe (just maybe as I'm over optimistic) we could reach a problem that a
mechanical engineer could solve and could potentially save many lives..

Thanks for the answer!

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duskwuff
This isn't a mechanical problem. It's a biological one -- you've got two
people; one of them wants to breathe in, and the other wants to breathe out. A
single ventilator can't support the respiration of the patient who's breathing
in without making the other one choke.

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dekhn
If you're asking questions like this, you are not qualified to work on
problems like this. Sorry to be blunt, but- there are a million ways this
would cause more problems (some obvious some not).

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eloops
Have you seen the news recently? It's now being officially tested with
patients in New York..

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sigmaprimus
Way to think outside the box!

I think it is a reasonable question to ask, I'm not sure it would work given
the legal ramifications and CMA policies hospitals have.

Pay no attention to the bottom comment, I rarely click that button but I
believe you asked a fair question and recieved an unfair answer.

Keep thinking on it and who knows, desperate times call for desperate
measures.

