The whole world is toiling under this awful virus. We are all sat waiting to see just how bad things get. And just how much the NHS buckles under the strain.
One of the most vital bits of kit we are told, is the ventilator. Crucial to help patients keep breathing, as it seems to be the lungs that are the main focus of Corvid 19’s attack.
Current medical suppliers just aren’t able to ramp up production of their existing designs, as obviously their production facilities just aren’t built to meet the worldwide demand coming in.
The government decided to ask industry for help. The upshot is that 3 approaches have materialised. Dyson, the revolutionary vacuum cleaner company have designed a quite sophisticated machine, compact and capable of operating from battery power.
Gtech, again a vacuum company have designed a quite primitive looking system, which runs purely off the oxygen supply in the hospital. I don’t mean to demean the design by calling it basic, that very fact may mean that it can be produced quickly and cheaply to meet the demand.
The third leg is a consortium of companies such as McLaren, Airbus, Mercedes, who are working with existing suppliers to replicate their design. The benefits obviously being that an established design should be easier to get regulatory approval passed.
Dyson CoVent
Dyson’s machine above looks sleek, compact and quite hi-tech. It needs to garner medical approval, but its reported that initial tests have proven the concept. What really stands out here I think. Is the fact that from being asked, to delivering this prototype was a mere 10 days. Dyson are claiming that if approval is forthcoming, they can ramp production up in early April.
If we have engineers and designers capable of pulling this off in such a time frame, imagine what the country could do if it can work like this when we don’t have a global pandemic to content with.
Gtech
Gtech’s offering is probably as far removed as possible from Dyson’s and indeed standard models. But that could turn out to be a blessing. Looking at the individual components, this looks like it could be so simple and quick to assemble. This might be just what the world needs.
Whatever model, or combination of models are eventually chosen. Its nice to know that industry can respond so well in such an emergency.