Ham-Assisted Emergency Ventilator Heading Toward FDA OK

 A "MacGyver"-style ventilator, built around an Arduino microcontroller and built for less than $250 from parts available at your local big-box home improvement center, has received preliminary design approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a report in the Gainesville Sun newspaper. 

The project, headed by Professor Samsun Lampotang at the University of Florida, has involved several hams since its earliest days. Among them, according to the ARRL, are Dr. Gordon Gibby, KX4Z, a colleague of Lampotang who recruited the other hams; uBITX designer Ashhar Farhan, VU2ESE, and Arduino authority (and CQ author) Dr. Jack Purdum, W8TEE. One feature of the design, in addition to its low cost and easily available parts, is its ability to sense a patient's efforts to breathe on his/her own and immediately switch from providing full ventilation helping the patient's own efforts. Final FDA approval had not been received by press time.

More COVID Cancellations

Restrictions on group gatherings in the ongoing effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in additional cancellations of ham events. The Ham-Com hamfest in Texas has been cancelled for this year, along with the annual Museum Ships Weekend – both scheduled for June – and the ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference scheduled for September 11-13 will be held as a virtual conference online.

Hams Get Creative for License Exams

With typical amateur radio license exam sessions largely postponed due to coronavirus restrictions on group gatherings, hams are exploring new options. A growing number of Volunteer Examiner (VE) teams are offering remote test sessions, and some in-person exams are continuing, in accordance with local guidelines. Newsline reported recently on an exam session in Norway that was held in the woods! And the Blue Mountain, Oregon, Eagle newspaper reported that Grant County ARES held an outdoor test session in late April, while keeping the group size below the state's 10-person limit, keeping everyone six feet apart and requiring all participants to wear face masks. It was noted that all five candidates passed their exams.

In the United Kingdom, online exams are also being offered and the Radio Society of Great Britain reported that in its first month of offering remote exams, 216 candidates had taken the entry level (Foundation) test and that 93% of them had passed. This is a significant increase from the 79% passing rate in the four months ending January 31. According to Southgate Amateur Radio News, RSGB is suggesting that the higher pass rates are most likely due to candidates being able to learn at their own pace and wait until they feel they are ready before taking the exam.

CQ's June issue will have a comprehensive look at the different approaches being taken by several Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VECs) in the United States.