Ventilators have become a scarce commodity in hospitals around the world, which are struggling to ... [+]
Topline: A new breathing aid developed by Mercedes Formula One and University College London (UCL)is being tested at one London hospital. If successful, this innovative new device could ease demand for ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic.
- The team from UCL, University College Hospital and Mercedes-AMG-HPP built a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device that can aid the breathing of sick patients without the need for “invasive mechanical ventilation”, according to the researchers.
- 40 prototypes are now being tested in four London hospitals just 10 days after the team started work on the project, after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved its use.
- The researchers reverse-engineered an off-patent CPAP device and tweaked the design so that Mercedes-AMG-HPP will be able to produce 1,000 units a day if the trial is successful.
- “These devices are a halfway house between a simple oxygen mask and invasive mechanical ventilation which requires patients to be sedated,” UCLH critical care consultant Professor Mervyn Singer told the BBC. "They will help to save lives by ensuring that ventilators, a limited resource, are used only for the most severely ill."
- Meanwhile the British government has placed an order for 10,000 ventilators from a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems, Ford, Rolls-Royce and Siemens.
- Smiths Group also announced on Monday that it would ramp up production of its portable ventilators to meet an U.K. government order for 10,000 of the life-saving devices.
Crucial quote: “This breakthrough has the potential to save many lives and allow our frontline NHS staff to keep patients off ventilators,” said Professor David Lomas, University College London’s Vice Provost Health.
Big number: 8,000. The U.K has 8,000 ventilators in the NHS but the British government expects it will need 30,000 units of the life-saving medical devices to treat COVID-19 patients.
Key background: As many manufacturers shut down production lines and factory floors in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and under government orders, a unlikely coalition of car-makers, racing teams, construction and aviation companies have stepped up to try to meet a critical shortage of ventilators, which are needed to aid the struggling lungs of COVID-19 patients.
The British government has come under fire in recent weeks for failing to learn lessons from the crisis in China, and Italy, by not placing orders earlier for new ventilators despite offers from suppliers, and the European Union.
