The lab of... Project Inspiration

Biomechanical engineer Dr Gerwin Smit (Faculty of 3mE) decided to do something about the impending shortage of ventilators. He disassembled an English ventilator from the 1960s from the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave collection, and with a team of 40 people took just a few weeks to build a new machine. The bicycle gear hub from the old device was replaced by an adjustable electric motor. The weights on the bar for pressure regulation and a pressure cooker for humidification were retained in the new design. The team made the specifications publicly available (www.projectinspiration.nl) so that people in low and middle-income countries can produce the ventilator locally.

TU Delft TV made a video about it, which is available on Youtube.