Technical Articles
2025-01-10

How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic

How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic

How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, ventilators have become extremely scarce medical devices worldwide.
It has been reported that tech companies like Dyson and Tesla have “crossed over” to produce ventilators. Another unexpected tech company that has actually participated in this “emergency rescue operation” is Raspberry Pi.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Throughout the pandemic, the presence of Raspberry Pi is everywhere.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Raspberry Pi 4, image from TechRadar
Everyone knows that smartphones and computers have chips, but we often forget that other electronic devices in our lives also need computing chips, from household appliances like refrigerators and washing machines to medical devices like ventilators.
The barrier to rapid production of ventilators is that chip production capacity cannot keep up.
Last month, Intel received an emergency order at its Chengdu production line to produce 25,000 BDW series processors in just four days, specifically to supply ventilator manufacturing. Normally, this delivery cycle would take at least two weeks. Before that, even Intel’s engineers were unaware that their CPUs would be used in ventilators.
The founder of Raspberry Pi also did not expect that his product would participate in ventilator manufacturing.
The Raspberry Pi, which has always been embraced by makers, produces affordable single-board computers priced between $5 and $55, and is only the size of a credit card, primarily for promoting computer education.
Amid the chip shortage, someone thought of using the most “low-spec” Raspberry Pi Zero as the main board for ventilators.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Image from BBC
The single-board computer Raspberry Pi Zero is equipped with a Broadcom BCM2835 CPU, 512MB RAM, includes one mini HDMI and two Micro USB ports, and costs only $5 (about 36 RMB).
Even so, this configuration is clearly sufficient to manage and control the air pressure, valve switches, and adjust the breathing modes in the ventilator.
Of course, more importantly, its price and stock are friendly. Raspberry Pi is not produced based on order quantity, but rather on stock levels as a benchmark, therefore stock is more stable. The official claims that they have already produced over 190,000 Zero series products in the first quarter and expect to increase production speed to 250,000 in the second quarter.
This month, another team based in Colombia has also developed a Raspberry Pi-based ventilator solution.
Robotic engineer Marco Mascorro thought about the shortage of ventilators as the pandemic progressed when designing the ventilator, so he tried to avoid traditional “professional ventilator” components as much as possible.
The “brain” used a Raspberry Pi; the “body” also used more common parts, such as valves that can be found in regular automotive and plumbing supply stores; the software was written by them and modified multiple times based on feedback from medical personnel online, completely open source, available for everyone to use.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Ventilators designed based on Raspberry Pi and other easily available components, image from: BBC
Mascorro’s design has been submitted for testing and inspection, hoping to enter clinical trials in May.
In addition to ventilators, maker enthusiasts have also used 3D printers to make protective face shields and deliver them for free to hospitals for medical personnel. And behind these 3D printers, Raspberry Pi is also used.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Image from TechRadar
Beyond medical devices, Raspberry Pi has also become a tool for many people working from home during the pandemic. Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton stated:
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic

Previously, having a shared computer at home was generally sufficient, but now all family members need a computer for learning or work.
(Raspberry Pi) cannot perform like your desktop computer; you cannot play high-end games on it, but if you just want to use it for basic tasks such as editing documents, browsing the web, using Gmail or Office 365, then Raspberry Pi 4 can meet those needs.
Due to a shortage of laptop devices, the UK’s National Health Service purchased Raspberry Pis for staff to use as temporary work-from-home tools.
In March of this year, Raspberry Pi’s sales reached 640,000 units, the second highest monthly sales since Raspberry Pi was founded in 2012.
Of course, in addition to ventilators and office computers, many makers also took this time to order Raspberry Pis to tinker at home, which is also one of the sources of sales growth.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
The joy of affordable technology: dare to explore
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Image from Betanews
In the personal computer consumer market, one side is high-end products that continuously refresh specifications and become more exquisite; the other side is low-end products like Raspberry Pi that are stripped down to the basics.
One side represents the cutting edge of consumer electronics, trying to blur the boundary between reality and virtuality with increasingly high computing power; the other side constantly reminds us that no matter how magical the technology world becomes, it is built from these simple components in your hands.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Image from Raspberry Pi Blog
The widespread application of Raspberry Pi during the pandemic also reminds us that many electronic devices in life only require low-spec computers like Pi Zero to meet their needs; it is just that we rarely pay attention and think about the working principles behind these products that have permeated every aspect of life in normal times.
In 2006, Upton noticed that “overly user-friendly” electronic devices were affecting people’s interest in computer science. At that time, he served as a teaching supervisor at Oxford University and found that the number of students willing to apply for computer science had plummeted.
In his view, the mainstream computers, game consoles, and smartphones existing at that time were all good, but they no longer invited users to experiment and create, only encouraging users to consume. For this reason, Upton later designed the Raspberry Pi to encourage users to get hands-on.
Upton stated in a BBC interview this year:
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic

Now, the number of students applying to study computer science at Cambridge is already higher than the peak value before the internet bubble, and I have learned from the admissions office that many students, when asked how they initially became interested in computers, all answered, “Raspberry Pi.”
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Eben Upton, image from Electronic World
This year, John Naughton, a professor of public understanding of technology at the Open University in the UK, emphasized in a Guardian commentary that understanding computer technology should become the focus of information technology education, rather than just teaching children how to use various ready-made software.
The event originated like this. One day, Naughton’s son came home from school and said to him, “Dad, you absolutely won’t believe what we did today. We actually learned how to use Microsoft Word!” And his son had been using Word to write essays since he could remember.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic

People often oppose by saying, “You say we are now just providing computer training for children, not the computer education they need. But when they leave school, they do need to use Microsoft Office software, so what’s wrong with training them early?”
I would let them try to replace “information education” with “sex education.” You would want your child to receive sex training or sex education? All arguments would then disappear.
In addition to being open, another remarkable aspect of Raspberry Pi is its low price.
Some parents want their children to be exposed to cutting-edge technology and are willing to spend thousands of dollars to buy them the best computers or phones, but they may still be reluctant to hear their child say one day, “Mom and Dad, I broke this tablet while researching it,” because the cost of trial and error is just too high.
The Raspberry Pi, priced between $5 and $55 (about 36-390 RMB), aims to provide a cheap price so that children or adult makers can experiment and create more freely without feeling too much pain if they break it.
Moreover, unlike simple programming learning, Raspberry Pi is hands-on education that combines software and hardware, closely linking the digital and real worlds.
In underdeveloped countries, Raspberry Pi can become a more competitively priced educational device when paired with a screen, mouse, and keyboard.
From the continuously increasing DIY tutorial sharing on various Raspberry Pi communities, it is also becoming possible to create anything.
For beginner makers who love games, they can buy ready-made game console kits to assemble their own Gameboy.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Image from YouTube
Some makers have also used Raspberry Pi to build arcade machines during the quarantine period to play with their children and themselves.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Image from The Irish Sun
The “practical type” uses Raspberry Pi to create smart doorbells, some even with facial recognition capabilities.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Image from Geeky Gadgets
More hardcore makers have sent Raspberry Pi up in hot air balloons to space to capture high-altitude images and play screams. Why play screams? Because they are curious if screams are really unheard in space.
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
Images captured at 33 kilometers high, image from The Naked Scientist
The democratization of technology is not only about everyone being able to access and afford consumer electronics, but it should also be about everyone having the resources and opportunities to understand the working principles behind computers.
Only in this way can everyone have the ability to find alternative solutions in unconventional situations; only in this way can they potentially have the capability for innovation.
Image from Digital Information World
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
How Raspberry Pi is Revolutionizing Medical Devices During the Pandemic
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