4 ms·

The key insight that made me want to post this is we should actively try to move to an older ventilator design (does bulk of the work, not optimized but easier

by iqster 7y ago

The key insight that made me want to post this is we should actively try to move to an older ventilator design (does bulk of the work, not optimized but easier and simpler). I have encountered this in my life as a software engineer. MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes) in the mid 90s was hard to grok .. you had this huge book by Jeff Prosise to absorb. I cracked it when I chanced upon a manual for MFC 1.0. It was super simple and down to the essentials. All the fancy stuff they added from 1.0 to 5.0 was icing and made things complex. I think people who are actually working on ventilators should seriously consider going for a simpler design .. it might be this or might be something else. The person in this article also said he is happy to give the design away. I think if the Malaria Med+Antibiotics treatment from the French study don't work (we'll know in about a week I think), we need to move to a war footing and start producing ventilators. My back of the envelope math has scared the crap out of me (best case 500K Canadians dead, worse case 3 million). I really hope someone who can make a difference sees this.

arbuge 7y ago
> I think if the Malaria Med+Antibiotics treatment from the French study don't work (we'll know in about a week I think), we need to move to a war footing and start producing ventilators. My back of the envelope math has scared the crap out of me (best case 500K Canadians dead, worse case 3 million). We should assume they won't work. War footing time is now.
- iqster 7y ago
  Btw this article was an interesting read on trying to build a modern ventilator: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/car-manufacturers-ventilators https://www.wired.co.uk/article/car-manufacturers-ventilator... War time devices must be simpler (easy to make and do field repairs on). We just need the first one.
- 14 7y ago
  It is going to be bad. People are still out and about touching everything then touching their face. I saw one lady today leave Walmart then upon getting to her car put all the groceries in the back then grabs a bag of chips and pops them open and starts eating them just moments after handling her shopping cart. Are people not seeing the videos of the people dying or on ventilators struggling for oxygen? Mean while the number of people around here being infected is slowly getting larger and larger each day. I have been telling people wash your hands before you do anything. They say social distancing, but that is the dumbest thing if you ask me because people seem to think that means if I am out and about and I stay 3 feet away from other people I will not get sick. What it really means is when you are out and about you need to not be in contact with other people or objects that other people may come in contact with. If you do come in contact with an object another person may have come in contact with, you may be exposed to the virus. Any time you touch an object others may have touched wash your hands. Social Distancing= Distancing from People and Any Objects they may have Touched. The other huge thing is do not touch your face, if you must it should only be after you thoroughly washed your hands. I am a home care aide and look after hundreds of elderly. This is getting crazy and feels as if we are just about to blow up in numbers. I wish people would take this more seriously. Vancouver Island is starting to take off. Good luck every body
DoreenMichele 7y ago
There are people in the world who live with very serious lung issues who do home management daily in order to survive. Non-mechanical lung clearance methods are a part of their daily routine. I've left some comments here on the possibility of doing lung clearance in the absence of sufficient numbers of ventilators: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22640905 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22640905 I don't really care to argue it with anyone. Please go find somewhere else to vent your spleen about how stressful this is. My recommendation is and has always been: If you have no other option and you are going to die because of it, you can try this. That's it. That's my entire point. All the accusations that I'm up to something nefarious and dangerous are completely unfounded. Take care. Try to not stress too much. Thank you for trying to be part of the solution.
- inferiorhuman 7y ago
  If the respiratory distress caused by SARS-CoV-2 were manageable in an outpatient setting we would not be seeing ICUs overrun with patients. You are not a doctor. Please stop.
- mannykannot 7y ago
  Thank you for bringing these techniques, verified by actual use, to our attention. I can well believe that, in a world where good first options are the norm, fallbacks may not be widely known. Even if they are insufficient in the worst cases, thay are still worth consideration. Best wishes to you and your family in these trying times.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    As long as I can keep working and keep my income up, we seem likely to be okay. I already work from home and we don't get out much.
- inferiorhuman 7y ago
  If the respiratory distress caused by SARS-CoV-2 were manageable in an outpatient setting we would not be seeing ICUs overrun with patients. If people with COVID-19 could cough their way to health they would. If onions provided protection, we'd've heard about it by now given how much China is pushing TCM. Instead we see hucksters with no medical training hawking false treatment. You know what happens when folks start taking medical advice from people with no medical training? This: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-21/nigeria-reports-chloroquine-poisonings-after-trump-praised-drug?srnd=premium https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-21/nigeria-r... Chloroquine poisonings. Chloroquine is a safe, well understood drug. It's also not available over the counter in most countries because it is dangerous if not used correctly. You are not a doctor. Please stop peddling your reckless medical advice.

by iqster 7y ago

arbuge 7y ago

> I think if the Malaria Med+Antibiotics treatment from the French study don't work (we'll know in about a week I think), we need to move to a war footing and start producing ventilators. My back of the envelope math has scared the crap out of me (best case 500K Canadians dead, worse case 3 million). We should assume they won't work. War footing time is now.

iqster 7y ago
Btw this article was an interesting read on trying to build a modern ventilator: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/car-manufacturers-ventilators https://www.wired.co.uk/article/car-manufacturers-ventilator... War time devices must be simpler (easy to make and do field repairs on). We just need the first one.
14 7y ago
It is going to be bad. People are still out and about touching everything then touching their face. I saw one lady today leave Walmart then upon getting to her car put all the groceries in the back then grabs a bag of chips and pops them open and starts eating them just moments after handling her shopping cart. Are people not seeing the videos of the people dying or on ventilators struggling for oxygen? Mean while the number of people around here being infected is slowly getting larger and larger each day. I have been telling people wash your hands before you do anything. They say social distancing, but that is the dumbest thing if you ask me because people seem to think that means if I am out and about and I stay 3 feet away from other people I will not get sick. What it really means is when you are out and about you need to not be in contact with other people or objects that other people may come in contact with. If you do come in contact with an object another person may have come in contact with, you may be exposed to the virus. Any time you touch an object others may have touched wash your hands. Social Distancing= Distancing from People and Any Objects they may have Touched. The other huge thing is do not touch your face, if you must it should only be after you thoroughly washed your hands. I am a home care aide and look after hundreds of elderly. This is getting crazy and feels as if we are just about to blow up in numbers. I wish people would take this more seriously. Vancouver Island is starting to take off. Good luck every body

DoreenMichele 7y ago

There are people in the world who live with very serious lung issues who do home management daily in order to survive. Non-mechanical lung clearance methods are a part of their daily routine. I've left some comments here on the possibility of doing lung clearance in the absence of sufficient numbers of ventilators: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22640905 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22640905 I don't really care to argue it with anyone. Please go find somewhere else to vent your spleen about how stressful this is. My recommendation is and has always been: If you have no other option and you are going to die because of it, you can try this. That's it. That's my entire point. All the accusations that I'm up to something nefarious and dangerous are completely unfounded. Take care. Try to not stress too much. Thank you for trying to be part of the solution.

inferiorhuman 7y ago
If the respiratory distress caused by SARS-CoV-2 were manageable in an outpatient setting we would not be seeing ICUs overrun with patients. You are not a doctor. Please stop.
mannykannot 7y ago
Thank you for bringing these techniques, verified by actual use, to our attention. I can well believe that, in a world where good first options are the norm, fallbacks may not be widely known. Even if they are insufficient in the worst cases, thay are still worth consideration. Best wishes to you and your family in these trying times.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  As long as I can keep working and keep my income up, we seem likely to be okay. I already work from home and we don't get out much.
inferiorhuman 7y ago
If the respiratory distress caused by SARS-CoV-2 were manageable in an outpatient setting we would not be seeing ICUs overrun with patients. If people with COVID-19 could cough their way to health they would. If onions provided protection, we'd've heard about it by now given how much China is pushing TCM. Instead we see hucksters with no medical training hawking false treatment. You know what happens when folks start taking medical advice from people with no medical training? This: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-21/nigeria-reports-chloroquine-poisonings-after-trump-praised-drug?srnd=premium https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-21/nigeria-r... Chloroquine poisonings. Chloroquine is a safe, well understood drug. It's also not available over the counter in most countries because it is dangerous if not used correctly. You are not a doctor. Please stop peddling your reckless medical advice.