Back in September of 2019, University of Waterloo’s fourth-year Mechatronics Engineering students, Connor Simmons, Aditya Matam, Brian Mao, Sam Raisbeck decided to make a Capstone project based on a solution to an issue a friend described working as a first responder. Little did they know COVID-19 was around the corner.
The Mechatronics Engineering Capstone project, sponsored by Baylis Medical, is described by the team as “AIR - Automatic Inhalation Resuscitator is described as a bag valve mask which is a device used by paramedics to provide ventilation for patients who are not breathing adequately. It has been shown there are inconsistent pumping rates between trained medical professionals, and specific volume requirements that are not being met consistently. AIR is a device that is compact, inexpensive, and capable of delivering consistent breaths to a patient through bag valve mask compressions. The objective is to reduce the amount of medical attention and expertise required to operate a bag valve mask.”
Kindly and generously, the team made the plans and research open source (open to anyone for free) on GitHub, so other people can get the plans and make their own or put AIR into production. Project GitHub repository
Ironically, this year’s Mechatronics Capstone event was canceled last minute due to COVID-19 precautions. Students were asked to submit videos of their projects (opens in YouTube) since they were not able to present them in person.
If you’re interested in sponsoring a Mechanical or Mechatronics Engineering Capstone project for 2021, please email us for details.
Mechanical or Mechatronics Engineering 2020 Capstone Projects.
View the other Mechatronics Engineering Capstone project posters)
CTV News interviews, MME student, Connor Simmons – watch the video on YouTube Now.