The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed three Indian companies to manufacture low-priced ventilator for COVID-19 patients. The three Indian companies are Alpha Design Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bharat Forge Ltd and Medha Servo Drives Pvt Ltd, the space organisation said in a statement. Recently, NASA was granted FDA authorization for its own ventilator prototype for COVID-19 pandemic. The machine’s aim is not to replace traditional mechanically-complex hospital ventilators, but to avail the patients from needing one in the first place. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) engineers designed the prototype in just 37 days. NASA in a press release said that they received interest from 331 countries including India and 21 were selected with eight being US companies.
NASA’s JPL engineers designed a ventilator prototype “Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally,” or VITAL, to put up the ventilators manufacturing process fast, easy and affordable than a traditional ventilator and with fewer parts. The equipment uses one-seventh the parts of a traditional ventilator. However, ventilators are durable for three to four months compared to years for a more durable hospital device. VITAL will free up the traditional ventilators for those with the most severe COVID-19 symptoms. Its design is flexible which means it can also be modified for use in field hospitals.
Manager of the JPL Office of Strategic Partnerships and a member of the VITAL leadership team, Leon Alkalai said in a statement “The VITAL team is very excited to see its technology licenced. Our hope is to have this technology reach across the world and provide an additional source of solution to deal with the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.”
Innovation on ventilator design is popping up across the world. NASA isn’t the only non-medical body hoping to lend a hand during this pandemic. Several well-known automobile companies had rendered some of its car parts to build ventilators and other medical devices.
