About
The Challenge: A Response To COVID-19
The Montreal General Hospital Foundation and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre launched an international design challenge during the Covid-19 pandemic : the Code Life Ventilator Challenge.
At a time when the planet feared a shortage of medical ventilators, engineers and scientists from around the world participated in a daring challenge. The goal : design a low-cost, simple, easy-to-use and easy-to-build ventilator in just two weeks.
The response was phenomenal!
Selection Of The Top Ventilator Prototypes
Leading critical care physicians, respiratory therapists, mechanical engineers and other experts selected the best prototypes based on criteria such as reliability, ease of manufacturing, adherence to compliance specifications, and modularity. The ventilators had to be reliable but simple enough to be deployed anywhere needed to save lives.
Following intensive testing of the top prototypes, the panel of expert advisors chose 3 finalist teams. Their ventilator designs and manufacturing packages are available for download and production here.
Prizes
The three finalists will receive $200,000, $100,000 and $50,000 CAD in compensation for their design and for sharing it with the world. The level of compensation will be determined by the extent to which the individual designs are used and produced in the next six months.
Next steps
As of now, we are focused on yielding a maximum of ventilators to help patients with COVID-19. Hence interested manufacturers can already connect with us so that we may share the manufacturing packages with them.
We are also preparing a second Challenge specifically to expedite refinement, cost-reduction, and regulatory compliance of the final designs. Stay tuned for more!
Several collaborators and sponsors have supported the Code Life Ventilator Challenge organizers throughout this journey.
Thank you to all for making the Challenge a success and congratulations to the finalists!
In the Media
- Montreal hospitals launch global challenge to design low-cost ventilators, 3D Printing Media Network, 19/03/20
- Un prix de 200 000 $ pour concevoir des respirateurs artificiels abordables, TVA nouvelles, 19/03/20
- Un défi à 200 000 dollars pour concevoir des respirateurs artificiels abordables, L’Actualité, 20/03/20
- Hospitals challenge public to design life-saving ventilators amid COVID-19, CTV Montreal, 20/03/20
- Montreal hospitals launch ventilator design challenge amid coronavirus pandemic, Global News, 20/03/20
- Code life ventilator challenge, City News – Montreal, 20/03/20
- Design Can Help: Code Life Ventilator Challenge, Azure Magazine, 20/03/20
- McGill University research institute launches global contest to find new ventilator designs, CBC, 20/03/20
- Design a medical ventilator: win $240,000, Newsroom, 20/03/20
- Ventilator design challenges tap engineers for crowd-sourced solutions, Design engineering, 22/03/20
- Designers challenged to create low-cost ventilator, EP&T, 23/03/20
- Coronavirus: un défi mondial d’innovation conçu ici, Jean-Guy Gourdeau, président et chef de la direction de la Fondation de l’Hôpital général de Montréal, 98,5 FM, 23/03/20
- Neue Beatmungsgeräte gesucht – Belohnung winkt, wenn’s flott geht, Heise, 23/03/20
- Créer un respirateur artificiel en deux semaines pour sauver des vies, Radio-Canada, 24/03/20
- Des respirateurs d’urgence pour le monde entier, Radio-Canada (Dessine-moi un dimanche), 29/03/20
- Nobel laureate leads push for simple made-in-Canada ventilator, Globe & Mail, 29/03/20
- COVID-19 : des professionnels de l’Estrie créent un nouveau respirateur, Radio-Canada Estrie, 30/03/20
- How 3-D Printers Are Helping to Fight the Coronavirus, The New Yorker, 31/03/20
- Consortiums and collaborations: Design companies team up to fight the coronavirus, Fortune, 31/03/20
- University of Waterloo Is 3D Printing Face Shield Components To Help Protect Front-line Medical Workers, Guelph Now, 31/03/20
- Course folle pour créer un respirateur bon marché, La Presse, 03/04/20
- Un respirateur assemblable créé par une firme montréalaise, Journal de Montréal. 07/04/20
- Queen’s University students aim to build a ventilator with easy to find parts, Ottawa CTV, 14/04/20