Three Indian companies- Alpha Design Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bharat Forge Ltd and Medha Servo Drives Pvt Ltd got the license to manufacture Coronavirus ventilators from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Other than Indian companies, 18 other firms including three Brazilian and eight American received the license. NASA developed a ventilator called VITAL specially designed for COVID-19 patients at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California and got ‘Emergency Use Authorisation’ from Food and Drug Administration on 30th April 2020.
Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally also known as VITAL is made from 1/7th equipment of the traditional ventilator with inputs from doctors and medical device manufacturers. Thus, it can be made easily from the parts already available in the supply chain. It will provide an affordable option for treating critical patients and leaving traditional ventilators for those with severe Coronavirus symptoms.
Leon Alkalai, manager of JPL Office of Strategic Partnerships said, “We hope to have this technology reach across the world and provide an additional source of solutions to deal with the on-going COVID-19 crisis.”
Dr Tisha Wang, Clinical Chief of the UCLA Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine said, “VITAL performed well in simulation testing with both precise and reproducible results.”
A media statement reads, “Besides, the setup and operation of the ventilator were quick and user-friendly. The UCLA team commends JPL for actively contributing to the COVID-19 response and successfully addressing one of the key medical needs in the sickest group of patients.”
As of now, India has 174K confirmed cases with 82,368 recovered and 4,971 deaths.
