LIPI Develops Ventilator Sivenesia To Help Handling COVID-19

JAKARTA - The Research Center for Electronics and Telecommunications (P2ET) of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) is developing a ventilator named Sivenesia (Smart Innovation Ventilator Indonesia) with two operating modes CPAP and BiPAP. The development of this ventilator is to help deal with COVID-19.

"CPAP and BiPAP are the most effective non-invasive (without surgery) treatment systems and are the first and most widely used options for patients with respiratory problems", said LIPI P2ET researcher Eko Joni Pristianto, quoted by Antara, Saturday, July 17.

The availability of breathing apparatus such as ventilators is very important in helping to handle the increasing number of critical COVID-19 patients in every health facility. Researcher Eko and his team are currently developing the ventilator.

CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) mode is a ventilator that produces one level of positive air pressure that is constant and continuously given to the patient with the aim of keeping the patient's respiratory tract open.

While the BiPAP (Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure) mode is a ventilator that can produce two different levels of positive air pressure, namely when inhaling (inspiration) and when exhaling (expiration), making it more comfortable for patients to use because it will follow the rhythm of breathing while maintaining the required end-expiratory pressure (PEEP).

According to Eko, the ventilator with CPAP and BiPAP modes is usually recommended by doctors for patients with sleep apnea (serious sleep disorders), which is a symptom where the patient's respiratory system will stop for a while during sleep. These symptoms will of course lead to poor sleep quality.

The CPAP or BiPAP ventilator mode is a pressure-based ventilator mode, which aims to prevent airway obstruction such as the symptoms experienced by many COVID-19 sufferers, as well as to train the respiratory muscles before the patient can breathe normally.

Eko said the purpose of using the ventilator is to keep the patient's respiratory tract open, while the basic difference between the CPAP and BiPAP modes is the issue of comfort when the patient breathes.

In CPAP mode, the ventilator will work by providing a continuous (constant) positive pressure airflow through the tube to the nose and or through the mouth, so that it can cause fatigue (uncomfortability) in the patient, especially during the exhalation process (expiration) use more force or force to resist the pressure.

This problem is particularly troubling for certain patients who have a neuromuscular disease (an extensive group of disorders characterized by motor changes produced by injury or neurological disorders).

Meanwhile, for BiPAP mode, this type of ventilator will provide different pressures when the patient breathes (inspiration) and when the patient exhales (expiration) so that the patient will be more comfortable in breathing while maintaining the required PEEP pressure.

"Because this ventilator is a medical device that functions as a breathing apparatus, the use of this ventilator mode must be with the advice, instructions, and monitoring of a doctor", he said.

Sivenesia has gone through a series of testing stages, including laboratory-scale testing as the initial stage of testing, where testing focuses on technical issues with reference to established standards.

"We have carried out a function test at the Health Facility Security Center (BPFK) of the Indonesian Ministry of Health and have passed the test and received certification with Number YK.01.03/XLVIII.2/PK/2021 (025 for CPAP and 026 for BiPAP)", he said.

The function test includes a series of tests, such as system performance (performance), system endurance (endurance), and electrical safety for 21 days without stopping.

"The next stage, we will conduct a Sivenesia clinical trial as the next stage to obtain a distribution permit as a form of dissemination of our research results", said Eko.