Why is JPL building them?
On top of the point that they still have to be mass produced, we now have a surplus, and we’re finding out that in many cases we don’t need them (and may have been killing people with them).
[Update a few minutes later]
Related Twitter thread. Pronation seems to be more effective and safer than ventilators.
Anyone with severe GERD will sing the praises of the prone sleeping position. Puts your stomach downhill from your espohagus and expands your lungs. I’ve been on Pepcid AC, beginning with the prescription drug, for more than 30 years for GERD (from which I had several episodes of aspiration pneumonia before diagnosis and treatment, and which also damaged my teeth). Funny how both prone and Pepcid help with Covid19. Even funnier how Pepcid disappeared from the shelves in January. I had to take Prilosec (which doesn’t work) for a while, and my current supply of Pepcid came from Hungary after a diligent search. Funny.
Hmmm
The “Hmmm” was meant as a reply to William above. I did order some Pepcid from Amazon. Should arrive mid May. I’m not sure if it will do anything, but my wife does use Prilosec from time to time.
My Amazon Pepcid arrived a few days ago, and I’m about to start using. The label says “Manufactured in Canada from ingredients sourced from Hungary.” Hope it’s real. My wife uses prescription omeprazole (Prilosec) and that does seem to work well. It’s to buffer oral chemo problems.
I think lying on either side (preferably left) is best of all. That’s where I get the most relief from sleep apnea and bronchitis.
For GERD, I find left side only works, as it places the stomach below the espohageal sphincter (failure of which is the ultimate cause of GERD). When I have to give my elderly left shoulder a break, I switch to a right-side position that’s substantially inclined toward face down, but not all the way as then I wake up feeling smothered. The one thing I can’t do is lie on my back, which leads to coughing if awake and immediate snoring if asleep (which leads to immediate wifely disturbance).
I gave all my questions about the ventilators, but my personal issue is that NASA does things like this more often than people know. I’ve heard the arguments as to the value, but it is bullshit. The fact is NASA lacks a clear mission. It exists as sort of a strategic storage on scientific and engineering minds, so you get silly stunts like building a respirator, as if no one knew how to do it before this stunt.
I have issues with Elon Musk, but the man has a clear mission, and it is not hard to see how he uses that mission to advance his ultimate goal. If we must continue to have a NASA, I rather they stop reinventing patents into “free licenses” and spent more time on a clear mission directive.
And since I left NASA, I’ve found a wealth of smarter scientist and engineers working on commercial endeavors, making more money by inventing more things that have an immediate use in the market. They have to do this, because they otherwise don’t have a gravy train of taxpayers money to waste on useless endeavors.