By: Teresinha Medeiros, WRH Communications Coordinator

Three Ontario Physicians are behind the development of an innovative device that could prevent some COVID patients from requiring ventilation.

Dr. Jay MacDonald, an Emergency Room Physician at Windsor Regional Hospital as well as a Hyperbaric Medicine Physician at Hamilton General Hospital, Dr. Rob Woodall, an Emergency Physician and a former Chief of Emergency Medicine at Windsor Regional Hospital along with Dr. Clive Davis, a Hyperbaric Physician in Hamilton with subspecialties in Respirology and ICU have created the helmet-like piece of equipment called the "Canada Hood."

The concept of the 'Canada Hood' is being used extensively in Europe in treating COVID-19 patients and as the name implies, it acts as a 'hood' or 'helmet' around the patient's head that provides continuous positive airway pressure or (CPAP) and most importantly, it is non-invasive.

"It has the ability to deliver exact concentrations of oxygen directly to each patient," says Dr. Rob Woodall. "By employing a soft sealed hood, it contains and filters any aerosolized infectious particles, thereby protecting all around."

In essence, the Canada Hood helps a patient's lung alveoli to stay open making it easier to breathe and oxygenate tissues.

"There are significant benefits to using CPAP in patients with mild to moderate respiratory distress," adds Dr. Jay MacDonald. "Studies have shown the patients who are not intubated and mechanically ventilated have proven to have less long-term consequences or complications such as early-onset dementia and cognitive impairment."

There are several benefits to non-invasive ventilation:

• Risks of virus aerosolization to healthcare workers is eliminated with institution of a closed loop hood (helmet) design
• Risks of virus aerosolization to healthcare workers is eliminated when not needing to perform intubation
• Allows patients to remain conscious with the ability to maintain communication and decision-making capabilities
• It delays or eliminates the need for expensive and invasive mechanical ventilation which are in short supply in a pandemic.  Ventilators are also expensive compared to the Canada CPAP Hood which is only a few hundred dollars.

The three physicians have partnered with Crest Mold in Oldcastle to produce the Canada Hood and they hope to obtain Health Canada approvals for use in the near future for the benefit of everyone.

St. Clair College in Windsor has also provided resources for additional testing and validation of the safety features.

The Canada Hood is entirely made in Canada with local expertise and chains of supply.  Canada was unable to get any European Hoods in the first waves of COVID and even today, European Hoods are in limited supply.  ​