# The Butterfly BVM, a Novel Resuscitator to Prevent Hyperventilation in Pediatric Resuscitation

> **NIH NIH R41** · COMPACT MEDICAL INC. · 2022 · $299,973

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Bag-valve-mask (BVM) resuscitators are difficult to use correctly and are commonly misused, even by trained
medical personnel. Misuse can result in serious injury and death due to volutrauma or barotrauma, and this is
particularly concerning when resuscitating pediatric patients, in whom there is an extreme range in lung volume.
Traditional BVMs provide no adequate means of restricting the volume of air delivered when the bag is squeezed,
so medical personnel rely on their ability to monitor chest rise to determine whether they are delivering an
appropriate volume. Chest rise can be especially difficult to monitor in pediatric patients under emergency
conditions, when simultaneous monitoring of peak inspiratory pressure (by observing a manometer) and other
patient parameters is required. Similarly, the rate at which breaths are delivered is not regulated by traditional
BVMs, and medical personnel often exceed safe rates. Compact Medical, Inc. is developing a safer, easy-to-
use device, the Butterfly BVM resuscitator, that restricts the ventilation volume, rate, and pressure to safe levels
that can be quickly set according to the patient. The device’s “concertina” design allows easier compression with
one hand, leaving the other hand free to maintain the seal between the mask and the patient’s airway. In a study
with end-users at Indiana University Simulation Center, a fully functional prototype will be tested to validate its
safety features versus a traditional BVM for pediatric applications and to gather user feedback. Aim 1 is designed
to test the ability of the Butterfly BVM to promote guideline-consistent patient care by users who have had a
minimal introduction to the device. Sixty participants trained in pediatric emergency resuscitation (physicians,
respiratory therapists, and emergency medical technicians; 20 per group) will receive a minimal introduction to
the Butterfly BVM and perform a series of resuscitation tasks using the Butterfly BVM and a traditional BVM
under conditions designed to replicate high-stress pediatric emergency resuscitation scenarios (mock codes).
The tasks will be performed on a mannequin system that collects air volume, breath rate, and pressure data.
Aim 2 is designed to determine whether the users can learn with a brief introduction how to manipulate the
settings of the device to fit predetermined clinical scenarios. Following the mock codes in Aim 1, the participants
will be shown a brief instructional video fully introducing the Butterfly BVM and its operation and given 5 minutes
to familiarize themselves with the device before engaging in another series of mock codes that require the
Butterfly BVM’s settings to be modified. The participants’ abilities to correctly manipulate the Butterfly BVM’s
settings will be recorded, and a questionnaire will be administered to gather user perceptions and feedback.
Project milestones include consistent restriction of minute ventilation and pressures to AHA...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10603659
- **Project number:** 1R41HD110310-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** COMPACT MEDICAL INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Jonathan Merrell
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $299,973
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-20 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10603659

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10603659, The Butterfly BVM, a Novel Resuscitator to Prevent Hyperventilation in Pediatric Resuscitation (1R41HD110310-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10603659. Licensed CC0.

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