Academics apply their minds to assisting COVID-19 victims

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, experts from universities in Rwanda are continuing their response to contain the pandemic and help patients recover.

Over the past month, a team of biomedical experts and engineers has started to produce ventilators to assist critical COVID-19 patients with their breathing.

Costica Uwitonze, a consultant with the University of Rwanda’s Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and a visiting biomedical engineering lecturer at the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centre (IPRC) in Kigali, is the brains behind the idea.

Uwitonze said he was driven to design and manufacture an emergency ventilator by the urgent and overwhelming need for ventilators around the world.

“We believed that we could develop a cost effective ventilator that can help COVID-19 patients with breathing difficulties,” Uwitonze told University World News.

Uwitonze teamed up with medical doctors such as respiratory specialists, and mechanical, electrical and biomedical engineers.

“To develop a ventilator you must have knowledge of medical equipment in respiratory care settings, be good at writing codes, understand mechanics and have on hand a senior respiratory specialist,” he said.

He added that it was also necessary to have an instrument called a ventilator gas flow analyser to ensure patient parameters are carefully calibrated.

Some of the materials used in the machine are available locally in university labs while others such as flow sensors, oxygen sensors and pressure sensors are imported.

“We are still working to finalise our prototype to be tested for standardisation and our aim is have a fully functional ventilator that is certified and ready to be used,” he said with optimism.

The final product will need to be approved by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre and the Food and Drugs Authority for mass production.

Uwitonze said the machines can then be exported elsewhere where they are needed, and could also be used to teach biomedical engineers and medical doctors in the future.

Stephen Rulisa, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the School of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Rwanda and clinician at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), said the team hopes to produce many ventilators.

“We will soon have a perfect model of the ventilator,” said Rulisa who is part of the Health Ministry's task-force dealing with COVID-19.

“As a clinician, I have been working with engineers for a week. What we do is to challenge engineers with clinical questions,” he said.

He added that experts also share ideas, and come to test the ventilators.

Philip Cotton, vice-chancellor of the University of Rwanda, said there is hope that the ventilators would be available soon.

He said university staff and healthcare professionals have joined other professionals on the front line. In addition, he said senior managers from the university had “joined with leaders in the country in forfeiting their April salaries to support vulnerable citizens affected by COVID-19”.

“I don't think many countries do this kind of brave action like we do here,” he said. University campuses are also being used to host aspects of the national response by serving as quarantine facilities and national crisis centres.

“There is also ongoing research including contribution of secure temperature-controlled storage for samples and our students are involved in screening teams,” Cotton said.