Mobile Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) System for Ventilators (COVID-19)
The widespread of COVID‑19 disease have been causing exponential growing of coronavirus patients that have outnumbered the hospital beds and overwhelmed the healthcare system across the world. In Canada, the number of total confirmed COVID‑19 patients has increased to 14,426 by April 5, 2020. As a result, Ontario, B.C., Quebec provincial governments have begun building makeshift hospitals and temporary mobile clinics in preparation for rise in COVID‑19 patients. As some of these new facilities have limited or no existing power, it is urgent to develop a portable Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system to ensure uninterrupted operation of ventilators and other medical appliances that are critical for saving patients’ lives. In collaboration with Portable Electric Ltd., Dr. Jian Liu’s team at the University of British Columbia will design a mobile, reliable, and safe UPS system that can be rapidly deployed to anywhere, at anytime to provide the highest-quality power for life-saving medical appliances, such as ventilators. This project will survey the power and energy needs from ventilators in hospitals, select the optimal battery type and chemistry for the ventilator application, and design and prototype the UPS system in Portable Electric’s production line in Vancouver. Development of this mobile UPS system will deliver a reliable and plug-and-play power solution to relief efforts amidst COVID‑19 pandemic, and help Canada to be more prepared in the case of future outbreaks and in other disaster-relief settings, such as earthquakes, wildfires, and hurricanes.
