Prana Ventilator Splitter

Fewer than 2,000 working ventilators serve hundreds of millions of people in 41 countries across Africa, compared to over 170,000 in the US alone. Prana is a medical device that allows up to four patients to share a single hospital ventilator safely when resource-constrained hospitals are overwhelmed with patient loads. The device was inspired by a series of interviews with doctors and respiratory therapists in Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Cambodia, and Mexico, where ventilators are a scarce commodity. Prana harnesses existing ventilator technology by simply plugging into the machine and supporting four patients using one device.

"After we spoke with Dr. Aidoo, an anesthesiology resident at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, we were disheartened to hear that patients were turned away due to a lack of ventilators at the facility. These patients either return to the hospital needing critical medical intervention since their conditions escalate, or they end up losing their lives. If we can split ventilators at the preventative stage, we can avoid patients needing critical care and further straining hospital resources, which allows them to save lives.” said Abhi Ghavalkar, Master of Design candidate at UC Berkeley, and co-founder of Prana.

Prana's clever design leverages off-the-shelf, medical-grade parts that plug into each other and connect to the main ventilator unit through a unique four-way splitter. All the components are housed in an enclosure that facilitates rapid assembly and disassembly of parts for maintenance and sterilization. Prana also comes with a centralized dashboard where four patients can be monitored simultaneously using a set of sensors connected to audio-visual alarms, and their individual airflow can be adjusted. The splitter costs less than $2,500 for four patients, compared to traditional ventilators that cost $17,000 for only one patient.

Prana is a potent addition to national or regional stockpiles for pandemics, natural or manmade disasters, and resource-constrained regions. The ventilator splitter supports hospitals in crises by equipping them with the capacity to serve overwhelming patient loads without compromising safety, quality, or user experience, making access to healthcare resources affordable for those who need it most.