A bag valve mask (Figure 1a), abbreviated in BVM and sometimes known by the proprietary name Artificial Manual Breathing Unit (AMBU), is a hand-held device commonly used to provide positive pressure ventilation to patients who are not breathing or not breathing adequately.

In emergency medical services, the need for a BVM ventilation is a common occurrence. The device is a required part of resuscitation kits for trained professionals in out-of-hospital settings (such as ambulance crews) and is frequently used in hospitals as part of standard equipment found on a crash cart, emergency rooms or other critical care setting.

This electronic prototype has been developed to improve/simplify the use of the AMBU, by emitting a signal to coordinate the inflation maneuvers from the trained operator. AMBU+ helps the healthcare professional to perform a more accurate ventilation procedure, by indicating the correct frequency with which the operator needs to ventilate the patient. The frequency is indicated using a visual and an audio signal. The operator can choose between two different modes of use: the first one for a normal ventilation procedure and the second one for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).