The use of ventilators are crucial to the care of people with lung failure - one of the complications suffered by patients with severe cases of COVID-19 https://reut.rs/2RVKVBq  1/8

With intensive care units overwhelmed in countries worst hit by COVID-19, doctors on the pandemic's frontline have become more sparing in their use of mechanical ventilators, increasingly seeking to use less invasive methods first to aid patients’ breathing. 2/8

In Europe, researchers have been converting low-cost snorkel masks into respirators. Isinnova, a startup based in Italy, has been offering its 3D-printing services to help ease a shortfall in ventilators. 3/8

In late-March, the FDA in the U.S. issued a statement saying that circumstances justified adapting alternative medical devices to treat COVID-19 patients. 4/8

The FDA authorized the emergency use of modified anesthesia gas machines and other modified breathing devices as alternatives to ventilators. 5/8

While non-invasive devices rely on masks to deliver oxygen, mechanical ventilators use tubes inserted into the airways - a process known as intubation - to take over a patient’s entire breathing process when a disease like COVID-19 causes their lungs to fail. 6/8

One option recommended by the @WHO when a patient is not responding to mechanical ventilation is known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation - a highly invasive treatment in which the lungs are completely bypassed by an external machine. 7/8

Understanding COVID-19: A bridge between life and death? @ReutersGraphics takes a closer look at the use of ventilators https://reut.rs/2RVKVBq  by @samugranados @kkelland 8/8