The CoVent-19 Challenge is an open innovation 8-week Grand Challenge for engineers, innovators, designers, and makers. We will be launching the Challenge on the GrabCAD Challenges platform on April 1, 2020. We welcome all who are interested to join a two round challenge that aims to create CAD assemblies by May 1, 2020 (Round 1: General Admission) and functional prototypes demonstrating acceptable performance by June 1, 2020 (Round 2: Invitation Only).
Participants will be allowed to submit multiple designs during Round 1, and participants may choose to submit full system designs and/or modules/parts for other teams to integrate into their design. Design briefs, system requirements, detailed team instructions and background information on mechanical ventilation will be provided when we launch on April 1, 2020. Round 2 will be invite-only and invited teams will receive access to additional resources for finalizing their design and creating functional prototypes.
Anticipating the unmet need for mechanical ventilation to treat infected individuals with lung infection from COVID-19 is crucial to their battle with this virus and survival. The United States has the capacity to ventilate about 170,000 patients, while 960,000 patients are projected to require mechanical ventilators. Even with the addition of a hundred thousand more mechanical ventilators, we do not have the capacity to ventilate this many patients, forcing physicians to make the impossible decision— who receives mechanical ventilation to continue to fight COVID-19 and who will not. How might we increase the capacity of hospitals to provide mechanical ventilation to those infected?
Our answer will be rapidly deployable ventilators that we can use to close the gap between those in need and our actual resources in healthcare systems around the world.
CoVent-19 Challenge is an open innovation challenge to develop rapidly deployable solutions for the COVID-19 mechanical ventilator crisis. The Challenge will consist of a 2-round design challenge that aims to finalize CAD assemblies by May 1, 2020 and functional prototypes by May 27, 2020. CoVent-19 has convened panels of medical and technical experts who will guide requirements and design processes.
The general entry round, focused on initial designs, will run for four weeks, with a panel of judges selecting up to 20 finalists. Evaluation by judges of minimum-viable ventilator designs will assess safety, reliability, and manufacturability, while minimizing cost and complex software and electronics.
Finalist teams will work with medical and technical experts through a four-week invitation-only round to develop and test functional prototypes. Stratasys application engineers will provide 3D printing consulting and services to the finalists.
To ensure our ventilator solutions reach the infected people in need, we have partnered with manufacturing and global health experts who have experience in navigating world-wide crises.
$10,000 in Prizes
First Place
Stratasys to provide $6,500 in Stratasys Direct Manufacturing credit
Second Place
Stratasys to provide $2,500 in Stratasys Direct Manufacturing credit
Third Place
Stratasys to provide $1,000 in Stratasys Direct Manufacturing credit
Stratasys Direct prize amount expires on 12/31/2020. Orders must ship on or before 12/31/2020. Restrictions Apply.
JUDGING CRITERIA
1. Meets system requirements
2. Manufacturing complexity
3. Functionality
4. Likelihood of success
Requirements needed for Submission:
1. System requirements included in the Design Brief
2. Project abstract (upload by 4/15/20) – list of team members, description of your design and how it works, and project timeline
3. CAD assembly (STEP/IGES)
4. Materials and manufacturing method selection
Important Documentation
Covent Design Overview PDF
Challenges Instruction Manual (Version 2)
Ventilator Basics By CoVent-19 Challenge
Be sure to Check out a Webinar Talking about the CoVent Challenge with FAQ.
Click Here to Watch
Be sure to download the Spec below to get all specifications and documentation on the challenge.
ENTERING THE COMPETITION:
If you think an entry may infringe on existing copyrighted materials, please email .
SUBMITTING AN ENTRY
Only entries uploaded to GrabCAD through the "Submit entry" button on this Challenge page will be considered an entry. Only public entries are eligible. We encourage teams to use GrabCAD Workbench for developing their entries. Entries are automatically given the tag "Covent19Round12020" when uploading to GrabCAD. Please do not edit or delete this tag. Only entries with valid tag will participate in the Challenge.
AWARDING THE WINNERS
The sum of the Awards is the total gross amount of the reward. The awarded participant is solely liable for the payment of all taxes, duties and other similar measures if imposed on the reward pursuant to the legislation of the country of his/her residence, domicile, citizenship, workplace, or any other criterion of similar nature. Only 1 award per person. Prizes may not be transferred or exchanged. All winners will be contacted by the GrabCAD staff to get their contact information and any other information needed to get the prize to them. Payment of cash awards is made through PayPal. All team awards will be transferred to the member who entered the Challenge.
We will release the finalists before the announcement of the winners to give the Community an opportunity to share their favorites in the comments, discuss concerns, and allow time for any testing or analysis by the Jury. The Jury will take the feedback into consideration when picking the winners.
Winning designs will be chosen based on the Rules and Requirements.
SCHEDULE
This Round one challenge ends on May 1st, 2020 (23:59 EST.) Finalists will be announced on May 5th, 2020. Finalists will move onto the next round.
DISCLAIMER
No Entry submitted to this Challenge has been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Accordingly, the efficacy of an Entry has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These Entries are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease and are for informational purposes only. No information presented here is meant as a substitute for, or alternative to,information from healthcare practitioners. If you decide to implement or rely on any of these entries, or on any information on this website, you do so solely at your own risk. Neither the Sponsor nor its representatives is providing any medical advice, and none should be inferred, from any ideas, suggestions or other information set forth on this website, in an Entry or in any other Sponsor materials. This website may contain links to third-party websites. The Sponsor provides these links as a convenience only and does not endorse any of these sites. The Sponsor is not responsible for the content of, and does not make any representations regarding the materials on, such linked third-party websites. If you decide to access or rely on information at a linked third-party website, you do so solely at our own risk.
HOW WILL THE COVENT-19 CHALLENGE WORK?
Who should participate?
Anyone can join our effort without restriction to field or focus and may enter as an individual or team. Please see our team building section below.
How do I join the CoVent-19 Challenge?
Anyone can submit designs on the GrabCAD Challenges website starting April 1, 2020 through May 1, 2020. Optionally, if you want to receive email notifications with updates, please subscribe to our email list below. If you are interested in forming or joining teams, you are invited to submit either the Team Building or Member Search form. Each team will need one team leader that will register on GrabCAD Challenges after we launch on April 1, 2020.
How do I find teammates?
If you are looking for a team or are looking for members follow the instructions below:
Join our Covent-19 teams Slack channel to find teams and individuals.
Utilize the internal forms to communicate your needs.
If you have any questions send us an email to .
How will the ventilator reach the people in need?
The CoVent-19 Challenge offers participants an unbeatable platform of resources to streamline the winning design through prototyping, safety and regulatory testing, manufacturing and distribution. Our partners have experience in manufacturing medical devices and navigating world-wide crises.
World-class leaders in respiratory physiology, critical care, and ventilator technology will form our expert medical and technical panels. They will provide guidance to teams on the safety, clinical, and technical requirements. Stratasys, the world leader in 3D manufacturing and prototyping, will co-host the design process and prototyping of designs. Ximedica, with more than 30 years of expertise in medical device design and manufacturing, will align with regulatory agencies to take the winning device through the necessary safety and regulatory testing, thus ensuring compliance with national and international standards. We are currently in discussions with manufacturers, distributors and the public sector to deliver the final winning ventilator around the world.
How will the CoVent-19 Challenge team support participants through the process?
Stratasys, GrabCAD and Valispace, are providing our participants free software for this challenge.
GrabCAD Workbench and GrabCAD Print offer cloud-based tools to collaborate on draft CAD designs that can be seamlessly 3D printed through our sponsor, Stratasys. During Round 2, invited teams will be supported with free rapid prototyping assistance.
Participants are also encouraged to work at a physical distance over Valispace. This software offers teams a platform to collaborate on requirements-driven hardware designs remotely, organize, and grow their projects throughout the creative process.
Participants will have access to GrabCAD Forums where they can send questions to our clinical and technical expert panels, including expert physicians on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and ventilatilator industry experts.
WHY JOIN US?
What sparked our initiative?
The first cases of COVID-19 in the United States hit close to home. We saw issues other countries were struggling with, including the inability to provide invasive mechanical ventilation to all those in need. As anesthesia doctors, we are experts at using ventilators to care for critically ill patients, and thus felt an immediate calling.
Why is mechanical ventilation so vital to surviving COVID-19?
COVID-19 can cause severe pneumonia (or lung infection). When the infection is severe, the effort of breathing increases, making it difficult to supply oxygen to vital organs. Patients may require extra breathing support from a mechanical ventilator, a machine that takes over the effort of breathing so that the lungs have time to heal.
How is your strategy different from large companies ramping up production of mechanical ventilators?
Although ramping up production will help address the deficit in mechanical ventilators around the world, the speed and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic require urgent solutions that be deployed globally, including in low-resource areas where standard mechanical ventilators may be challenging to obtain. We aim to augment our existing resources in a rapid and fluid way that enables us to expand and contract our resources to match the clinical needs around the world.
How will increasing our current mechanical ventilation capacity impact the COVID-19 pandemic?
Each country has its own projected pandemic peak. The CDC is predicting a peak in late April to May in the United States. According to the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the United States has the capacity to ventilate about 170,000 patients at one time, while 960,000 patients are projected to require mechanical ventilators. Even with the addition of a hundred thousand mechanical ventilators, we may not have the capacity to ventilate all those in need, forcing physicians to make the difficult decision–who receives mechanical ventilation to continue to fight COVID-19 and who will not.
How can I get involved if I would like to be a partner or a sponsor?
Please email us at
