Moroccan Engineers Develop Device to Double Ventilator Capacity Amid COVID-19 Crisis

The invention of Yassine Ndali, Jamal Bachiri and Younes Belfatmi could well save lives at a time when hospitals are more solicited than ever. The initiative was originally launched by OCP employees. The goal is to encourage OCP personnel to "submit an idea or initiative aimed at supporting the collective effort in the context of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic". Yassine Ndali explains that his colleagues had very good ideas; but on his side, he thought of equipment that could "be manufactured with the 3D printer available at the OCP Khouribga FabLab", reports Telquel.

Yassine Ndali’s post generates a few "likes", but especially attracts the attention of his colleague, Jamal Bachiri, who is very interested in the project. "On the same post, he tags his former intern, Younes Belfatmi. It is his mastery of 3D printing that will allow Yassine Ndali’s project to materialize". The trio is prospecting to identify the needs of health professionals. On site, they met a resuscitation doctor who told them that "artificial respirators were only used by one patient while several could be connected to them".

This is how the trio comes up with the idea of designing a connector that would be as unobtrusive as possible and take the shape of a Y. The shape and design of this connector are the work of the industrial designer, Jamal Bachiri. Between Yassine Ndali’s post and the realization of the first model, only seven days have passed. The first prototype made with lower quality plastic had some flaws during the initial tests. Finally, with their own financial means, they choose to invest in better quality plastic.

A new model thus designed has been submitted to the test of the doctors of the provincial hospital of Khouribga who approve the design carried out by the trio to their great joy. "It is really gratifying to feel that we have had a positive impact on human lives, and to tell ourselves that we can save others. This is our greatest reward," says Yassine Ndali on behalf of the group. At the moment, two models of the connector have been delivered to the Khouribga hospital. They have already been solicited by several hospitals in Morocco, and that of the Alicante region, in southern Spain.

The three men also thought of the caregivers by designing visors for the medical teams of the provincial hospital of Khouribga. With other OCP employees, the trio plans to "get involved in the design of disinfection equipment and in several other projects aimed at helping the Moroccan medical staff".

So many innovations that will certainly contribute to improving the daily life of Moroccan caregivers, while saving lives.