NASA's 'easy-to-build' COVID-19 ventilator gets FDA authorisation for emergency use

NASA’s new easy-to-build ‘high-pressure ventilator’ tailored to treat COVID-19 patients was approved by United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday, May 1. device called VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Techlogy Accessible Locally) was developed by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Sourn California.

ventilator is designed to treat patients with milder symptoms, reby keeping country’s limited supply of traditional ventilators available for patients with more severe COVID-19 symptoms. 

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said, “This FDA authorisation is a key milestone in a process that exemplifies best of what government can do in a time of crisis”. 

He added, “This ventilator is one of countless examples of how taxpayer investments in exploration – skills, expertise and kwledge collected over decades of pushing boundaries and achieving firsts for humanity – translate into advancements that improve life on Earth”. 

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According to press te on NASA website, Office of Techlogy Transfer and Corporate Partnerships at Caltech, which mans JPL for NASA, is w offering a free license for VITAL. Furr, y are also reaching out to commercial medical industry to find manufacturers for device.

Fred Farina, chief invation and corporate partnerships officer at Caltech, said that authorities are working to ‘pass baton’ to medical community, and ultimately serve patients. 

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Faster and easy to maintain

team at NASA detailed that VITAL can be built faster and maintained more easily than a traditional ventilator. It is also composed of far fewer parts, many of which are currently available to potential manufacturers through existing supply chains. Moreover, with flexible design, device can also be modified for use in field hospitals being set up in convention centres, hotels and or high-capacity facilities across globe. 

device, like all ventilators, will require patients to be sedated and an oxygen tube inserted into ir airway to brea. NASA also informed that VITAL would t replace current hospital ventilators as device is intended to last only three to four months and is specifically tailored to needs of COVID-19 patients. VITAL is expected to decrease likelihood of patients getting to that advanced st of disease where y require advance ventilator assistance. 

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