Covid 19 Emergency Ventilator Tidal Volume Measurement Challenge

The only thing that can propagate faster than a virus is open source technology. In this case we need to develop flow measurement technology for all the ventilators that are being built. There are many flowmeter designs, but they rely on sensors with limited availability. This 3-d printed Venturi for use with Covid 19 emergency ventilators can be built and used by anyone with no specialized parts. We need some help with the software development for this flowmeter to be used with open source emergency ventilators. The flowmeter is a Venturi that generates a pressure which is related to the Flow rate. https://www.efunda.com/formulae/fluid... The Venturi is hooked up to a manometer and the manometer has a certain dynamic response: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10... The challenge is that this is a 3 L calibration syringe so the volume should add up to 3 L if you integrate the manometer reading and convert it to flow rate using the equations above. The instantaneous flow rate can be checked based on the ruler and the position of the knob. Here are the syringe specs: https://www.midmark.com/medical/produ...The challenge is to write software so a cell phone can turn a video of the manometer reading into a tidal volume that the respiratory therapist can use to help the patient get better. See the drawing and the video

Step 1: take a frame every second, measure the venturi signal and convert it to flow. Integrate and see if it adds up to 3 liters.

Step 2: Use the manometer dynamics to adjust the flow rate based on the rate of change of the manometer.

Step 3: Use image processing to analyze the manometer level data and determine the tidal volume. Write an app that does this automatically and publish for fame and glory.