Wolcott College Prep Featured on Forbes Magazine

I'm very proud to announce that our ventilator project has now been featured in Forbes magazine. Lionel Billingsley is one of my students at Wolcott College Prep who assisted with our ventilator design. He is now one of "8 Under 18" in Forbes magazine.

8 Under 18: The Young Trailblazers Stepping Up During The Pandemic

Brianne Garrett Forbes Staff

Innovating ventilator design with robotics know-how

Lionel Billingsley is a sophomore from Wolcott College Prep in Chicago who competes with his school’s robotics team which, with the help of their coach, is designing a portable ventilator. While typical ventilators cost $5,000-$15,000, this ventilator, constructed using recycled robotics equipment, cost the team $850. Billingsley helped improve the prototype by suggesting a cam/crank design rather than having motors directly attach to the arms. This allows the ventilator to have better mobility, eventually evolving into a prototype similar to MIT’s emergency ventilator design. 

“I was just kind of using accumulated knowledge that I've gained over time of being very interested in mechanical engineering,” Billingsley tells Forbes. The team is currently testing the ventilator with healthcare workers for feedback, and has plans to soon partner with a local hospital for clinical testing. The next step is getting FDA approval. “It's very, very refreshing because I haven't been able to do something like this in a while, and we have the opportunity to save a lot of people.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/briannegarrett/2020/05/08/8-under-18-the-young-trailblazers-stepping-up-during-the-pandemic/#2c18056c7ba2