National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed a ventilator to provide life support to COVID-19 patients. As of now, no vaccines have been formulated to treat COVID-19 patients. However, the ventilator is an option to provide respiratory support to critical patients.
Large quantities of the ventilator are required, that’s why NASA has taken initiative to build a mass-producible ventilator. NASA engineers have produced large numbers of the ventilator to tailored coronavirus patients. Hoping that it could get approval from USFDA by this week.
A group of Engineers at Jet propulsion laboratory in California have prepared model and manufactured the ventilator in just 37 days. The device name is VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally). It is cost-effective and time-efficient, as it requires only one-seventh part of a conventional ventilator.
NASA said that they would provide a free license to the hospital so that the device reaches faster. A model of the ventilator was tested at Mount Sinai in New York.
According to Dev Gallagher, an associate director of the team, the testing was outstanding. However, the team has filed an application for authorization from the US FDA. Gallagher has said that the ventilator would cost around $2,000 to $3,000.
The spread of Coronavirus is at its peak in the US. However, at a later time when relaxation in lockdown will be given (talks are still in process), the cases will also increase faster. In Italy, the shortage of ventilators has been so bad that doctors had to prioritize the patients while treating them.
If NASA’s ventilator can be widely produced it could fill the gap of shortage of ventilator and can prevent the death of COVID patients who are struggling for treatment.