Moroccan medical innovator Hamid El Mouden shares the status of a potentially life-saving ventilator machine to assist with respiratory distress in COVID-19 patients.
Rabat – Moroccan medical innovator Hamid El Mouden shares the status of a potentially life-saving ventilator machine to assist with respiratory distress in COVID-19 patients.
In the light of the continuing spread of COVID-19, doctors and engineers are racing to show solidarity and support as part of Morocco’s nationwide campaign to flatten the coronavirus curve.
Since the outbreak officially entered the country on March 2, Morocco has implemented since-lauded preventive measures to limit the proliferation of the virus and to safeguard citizens.
Private and public medical staff have expressed unity to battle the virus. Some engineers and doctors across the country have launched initiatives to help reduce pressures on the health sector personnel on the front lines of the fight.
Morocco World News interviewed Hamid El Mouden, a 34-year-old engineer who is investing all of his resources to develop his respiratory ventilator invention.
El Mouden, who has 20 years experience in the electronics field, owns a company specializing in the manufacture of electronic cards and industrial equipment in the city of Tangier.
El Mouden told MWN that he came up with the ventilator idea in response to the outbreak of the global pandemic, and his profession allowed him to dive directly into development.
“Working in an electric field and having a home workshop, I was able to complete the first form of the breathing aid device in eight hours.”
Read Also: 100% Made-in-Morocco Ventilator and Thermometer to Hit Market Soon
The engineer said he spent the last few years in the field of medical device maintenance, which helped him gain significant experience and build knowledge on these devices.
The young innovator has made national headlines, with local media reporting on his device.
While working on the device in his workshop, El Mouden consulted customers he worked with in the medical field.
“I took enough information on the functioning of the device and did a lot of research on the internet on the functioning of the respiratory system in humans,” the engineer said.
A health rescuer
In his conversation with MWN, El Mouden introduced the components of the device, which he described as a ventilator to aid with breathing.
“The device consists of an air inlet and an inlet for concentrated oxygen. It also has an air pump and a screen to display the housings and certain sensors to calculate the pressure of air and oxygen content,” El Mouden explained.
The device functions to integrate air with oxygen and extends the element to the patient through the nose.
He said that the respiratory invention has an integrated system program consisting of five elements, determining the gender, weight, age, and oxygen levels of each patient.
“The program organizes the breathing time for each patient,” El Mouden explained.
The device could help people with asthma and general respiratory patients, as well as COVID-19 patients.
The machine can be charged and can last for more than two rounds of usage.
More resources needed
The engineer used his own resources to develop the device, saying, “I purchased equipment by myself to do the programming.”
El Mouden told MWN that he has already introduced the device to some doctors, who agreed that the ventilator is effective, especially in treating Crohn’s disease.
He said the device is under development, continuing, “I need support at this phase.”
Message of solidarity
The Moroccan Ministry of Health and the government at large have been urging citizens to take all preventive measures into account to avoid contamination.
Read Also: Africans Are Not Laboratory Rats: Moroccans to Sue French Doctors
Basic preventive measures include cleaning hands regularly, and covering the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing, and not shaking hands.
El Mouden shared the same message, asking citizens to be careful and to stay home and to respect the state of emergency to fight the pandemic.
Several other engineers and doctors launched initiatives to express solidarity and help patients with COVID-19.
Engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs, and technicians launched the solidarity initiative “Engineering VS COVID-19 Morocco” (Ingénierie VS COVID19MAROC) to share expertise and collaboratively create protective equipment.
The initiative involves more than 200 people working to fill the need for protective equipment.
Engineering VS COVID-19 has produced thousands of protective masks for Morocco’s medical personnel.
