So as you know there is a lack of respiratory unit's during the Corona virus Crisis.
I found this paper and was told to Post it here.

A Single Ventilator for Multiple Simulated
Patients to Meet Disaster Surge
Greg Neyman, MD, Charlene Babcock Irvin, MD
Abstract
Objectives: To determine if a ventilator available in an emergency department could quickly be modified to
provide ventilation for four adults simultaneously.
Methods: Using lung simulators, readily available plastic tubing, and ventilators (840 Series Ventilator;
Puritan-Bennett), human lung simulators were added in parallel until the ventilator was ventilating the
equivalent of four adults. Data collected included peak pressure, positive end-expiratory pressure, total
tidal volume, and total minute ventilation. Any obvious asymmetry in the delivery of gas to the lung simu-
lators was also documented. The ventilator was run for almost 12 consecutive hours (5.5 hours of pressure
control and more than six hours of volume control).
Results: Using readily available plastic tubing set up to minimize dead space volume, the four lung simu-
lators were easily ventilated for 12 hours using one ventilator. In pressure control (set at 25 mm H2O),
the mean tidal volume was 1,884 mL (approximately 471 mL/lung simulator) with an average minute ven-
tilation of 30.2 L/min (or 7.5 L/min/lung simulator). In volume control (set at 2 L), the mean peak pressure
was 28 cm H2O and the minute ventilation was 32.5 L/min total (8.1 L/min/lung simulator).
Conclusions: A single ventilator may be quickly modified to ventilate four simulated adults for a limited
time. The volumes delivered in this simulation should be able to sustain four 70-kg individuals. While
further study is necessary, this pilot study suggests significant potential for the expanded use of a single
ventilator during cases of disaster surge involving multiple casualties with respiratory failure.
ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2006; 13:1246–1249 ª