Engineers have played an important part in war efforts throughout history, from designing bridges to transport munitions to developing weapons that hopefully bring the war to an end.

As the United States finds itself in an escalating war against the novel coronavirus, Trine University engineers are doing their part to try and make a difference.

Though campus is closed and all students are taking classes online, teams of Trine faculty and staff members from Trine innovation 1 have been working under the direction of Parkview Health to develop devices that provide alternatives to equipment in limited supply, such as ventilators and N95 respirator masks.

One team has developed a machine that can automatically pump a manual resuscitator - commonly known by the proprietary name Ambu bag - serving as a replacement for a ventilator if needed. A second is working on prototypes for a hard-shell mask that could be sterilized, with a replaceable respirator filter, thus increasing its lifespan.

Jason Blume, executive director of Trine innovation 1, said Parkview has reached out to many area institutions to see what resources are available to address an expected increase in patients with COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus.

Parkview has assigned projects to its various innovation teams based on conversations regarding the resources each has available. The Ambu bag machine and respirator mask were both assigned to Trine because of the university's ability to develop solutions and prototypes quickly, Blume said.

Ambu bags, which provide hand ventilation during an emergency, are readily available for emergency response teams and throughout hospitals. However, they are impractical to use for long periods of time.

The Trine team initially developed a machine that could perform compressions on the bag, and has since, under the direction of a Parkview clinician and respiratory technician, added features that allow for varying lung capacity and number of breaths per minute.

The machine, now in its fifth iteration, was developed using existing components from Trine University laboratories that could easily be manufactured by area vendors, with software coding provided by Trine faculty. The team plans to test the machine with an artificial lung within one to two days to validate that it has the responsiveness needed.

The second Trine team is 3-D printing respirator mask prototypes. They plan to test the prototypes with clinicians within the next day or two to make sure they not only seal well, but are comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

With filter material for N95 masks in short supply, they also are investigating alternative filter media, which will be tested in a wind tunnel to make sure it screens out necessary levels of microorganisms.

The projects fit well with Trine innovation 1's mission to leverage Trine University resources to partner with outside industry, Blume said. Though usually Ti1 works to provide opportunities for students to get hands-on experience, with students sidelined at home, more than a half-dozen Trine faculty are working with the projects on a daily basis.