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Introducing VITAL, a prototype fan specifically designed for quick and easy mass production. Developed by NASA engineers, the device could ease the ongoing shortage of supplies in the US. USA And around the world as the covid-19 pandemic continues.
NASA has large amounts of brain power available, and Good to see the space agency take advantage of it during this difficult time.
“We specialize in spacecraft, not medical device manufacturing,” said Michael Watkins, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA. statement. “But excellent engineering, rigorous testing, and rapid prototyping are some of our specialties. When the people at JPL realized that they might have what it takes to support the medical community and the community at large, they felt it was their duty to share their ingenuity, experience and drive. ”
Their efforts have resulted in a high pressure fan called VITAL, which stands for Locally Accessible Fan Intervention Technology. Developed in just 37 days, the device still needs approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. But it could ease pressure in hospitals and other healthcare settings during the covid-19 pandemic.
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That fans are scarce in the US USA And in other places it is frustrating, but also understandable. As Canada’s director of public health, Theresa Tam, has said, “If you have seen a pandemic, you have seen a pandemic”, which means that they are all unique in terms of pathology and disease progression. This disease is particularly brutal in the lungs, hence the need for more venti.Lators that are readily available.
Of course, fans are not a panacea. Recent Statistics York City Hospital shows that 88 percent of covid-19 patients connected to ventilators succumbed to the disease. That is discouraging, but it is still a material impact in terms of total lives saved.
VITAL could help alleviate the shortage because It can be built and maintained faster and more easily than conventional designs. Requires Fewer components, many of which can be purchased through existing supply chains. VITAL also features a flexible format, which means it can be adapted for multiple healthcare settings, such as field hospitals, basketball courts, convention centers, hotels, or any other place where patients can be treated.
Like other ventilators, VITAL will require that patients be sedated and a tube inserted into their airways. VITAL does the rest after thatmechanically providing assisted ventilation for patients who can no longer breathe alone or have returned to a serious condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome.
VITAL has a limited useful life and the machines are not intended to be used for more than several months. Traditional hospital ventilators, by comparison, can last for years. NASA said VITAL is a solution made to help with the covid-19 pandemic.
The next step is for the device to be approved by the FDA, which according to NASA seems likely given that the device worked well during tests at the Mount Sinai Human Simulation Laboratory. And what is more, NASA is using the emergency fast route, in which the concepts can be approved by the regulator in days instead of years.
This NASA solution to fan shortages isn’t the only one. A group of MIT volunteers, for example, recently came up with a design, called the Spiro Wave, that It was approved by the FDA.
