People with cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and other chronic conditions can have serious difficulty coughing. This creates not only discomfort, but potentially dangerous complications for the lungs and heart. There are cough assist devices on the market that help, but they tent to be pricey, heavy, and require electric power. Now students at Michigan’s Grand Valley State University, working with clinicians at Beaumont Health, a hospital system, have developed their own cough assist device that overcomes these limitations.
The device, already licensed out for manufacturing, is made mostly of plastic and vinyl, and therefore quite light. It’s manually operated, and therefore doesn’t require a nearby power plug. This makes it easy to take on the go, as well as being practical for patients in poorer areas where electric power is not always available.
The device includes a pump, mask, and valves that regulate the pressure and volume of the air flow in and out of the lungs.
Via: Grand Valley State…