4 ms·

Engineers launched crash programs for ventilators. What will happen to them?

11 points by pross356 6y ago

redis_mlc 6y ago
As I said at the time corona arrived in the US, hospitals would rather watch patients die than use unapproved ventilators in the US because of legal and insurance liability issues. Even though the FDA granted an exception, I doubt if that changed the above. In the end, DIY ventilators didn't matter because approved ventilators ended up killing 65% to 90% of patients that used them for corona, generated a bill of $1 million for 3 weeks per patient, and destroyed the lung tissue (and other organs) of most survivors. The CDC had from SARS-1 (2003) to 2019 to do their job, and they didn't. It's a stunning failure on so many levels that I have to ask what that department does all day?
inetsee 6y ago
I find it interesting that this article implies that the US will not need more than the number of ventilators it already has, while at the same time another article linked here on HN (Experts warn parts of U.S. on verge of being overwhelmed by Covid-19 resurgence https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-covid19-world-june24-1.5624885 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-covid19-world-june... ) warns of the US being overwhelmed by a resurgence of COVID-19. I'm somewhat more inclined to give credibility to IEEE, but a lot of news outlets are reporting significant increases in cases lately. Who am I supposed to believe?
- icedistilled 6y ago
  See the other comment about how up to 90% of patients put on a ventilator died and those who lived have terrible problems. Also, we learned some since the start of the pandemic and have better techniques of preventing hospitalized cases from needing ventilators.
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  I just follow SF hospital mortality data a couple times per week (flat for months.) The news is simply noise, and there's no science yet on corona as a pandemic. Go for a daily walk to maintain your cardio health.
burfog 6y ago
People spend a month on a ventilator, and they end up brain damaged. It's probably due to the anesthesia needed to restrain a person who has tubes jammed into the lungs. People went half a century on iron lungs. They were fine. They could talk and eat. It's clear what the best solution for the patients is. We aren't using it because it is annoying for the hospitals. It is really bulky, it slows down access to the torso, and nobody wants to pay for that.
classics2 6y ago
Like most get rich quick schemes, they will disintegrate and disinvest a few people of their money as they go.

11 points by pross356 6y ago

As I said at the time corona arrived in the US, hospitals would rather watch patients die than use unapproved ventilators in the US because of legal and insurance liability issues. Even though the FDA granted an exception, I doubt if that changed the above. In the end, DIY ventilators didn't matter because approved ventilators ended up killing 65% to 90% of patients that used them for corona, generated a bill of $1 million for 3 weeks per patient, and destroyed the lung tissue (and other organs) of most survivors. The CDC had from SARS-1 (2003) to 2019 to do their job, and they didn't. It's a stunning failure on so many levels that I have to ask what that department does all day?

inetsee 6y ago

I find it interesting that this article implies that the US will not need more than the number of ventilators it already has, while at the same time another article linked here on HN (Experts warn parts of U.S. on verge of being overwhelmed by Covid-19 resurgence https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-covid19-world-june24-1.5624885 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-covid19-world-june... ) warns of the US being overwhelmed by a resurgence of COVID-19. I'm somewhat more inclined to give credibility to IEEE, but a lot of news outlets are reporting significant increases in cases lately. Who am I supposed to believe?

icedistilled 6y ago
See the other comment about how up to 90% of patients put on a ventilator died and those who lived have terrible problems. Also, we learned some since the start of the pandemic and have better techniques of preventing hospitalized cases from needing ventilators.
redis_mlc 6y ago
I just follow SF hospital mortality data a couple times per week (flat for months.) The news is simply noise, and there's no science yet on corona as a pandemic. Go for a daily walk to maintain your cardio health.

burfog 6y ago

People spend a month on a ventilator, and they end up brain damaged. It's probably due to the anesthesia needed to restrain a person who has tubes jammed into the lungs. People went half a century on iron lungs. They were fine. They could talk and eat. It's clear what the best solution for the patients is. We aren't using it because it is annoying for the hospitals. It is really bulky, it slows down access to the torso, and nobody wants to pay for that.

classics2 6y ago

Like most get rich quick schemes, they will disintegrate and disinvest a few people of their money as they go.