Posted on | CategoriesAnesthesiology / Immunology, Inflammation, Infectious Disease | PI: Kai Kuck, PhD

A Rapidly Manufacturable, Open-Source Ventilator for Austere Conditions

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, severe ventilator shortages led to dire situations both in developed regions and in low-resource regions where robust and affordable ventilators were already scarce. To address this urgent need, University of Utah Health researcher Kai Kuck, PhD, and colleagues developed Pufferfish, a complete intensive care unit ventilator capable of supporting the continuum from noninvasive ventilation to full mechanical ventilation. Continue reading → A Rapidly Manufacturable, Open-Source Ventilator for Austere Conditions

Research Statement

Throughout my work, I have been involved in the research and development of innovative medical technologies with a focus on anesthesia and critical care. My areas of focus include cardiorespiratory monitoring, intelligent decision support, and ventilation.

My experience covers the whole range from hands-on engineering for hardware, software, algorithm, and graphical user interface development all the way to managing projects, programs, and large teams of researchers. In my last position I oversaw the research of Dräger, the global market leader in anesthesia equipment and critical care ventilation, Since 2014, in my role as Director of Bioengineering at the University of Utah’s Department of Anesthesiology, I have the privilege of working closely with clinicians and learning about real-world needs and opportunities for technologies.

Because transforming healthcare increasingly involves innovations at the system and workflow level, this collaborative approach is essential to creating technologies that address real needs in the clinic.