Medtronic has said it has received over 100,000 registrations for the design specifications for its PB560 ventilator.
The company made the specifications publicly available as manufacturers and governments try to work to expand ventilator capacity in a bid to tackle the coronavirus.
Three large-scale manufacturers: Canada-based Baylis Medical, Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group (via their manufacturing facility in Wisconsin), and VinGroup Joint Stock of Vietnam, are said to have made progress in rapidly accelerating production
It has also said it will not raise the prices of ventilators as a result of the pandemic and is partnering with key government authorities to prioritise allocation to areas in most need.
The company has taken a number of steps to increase its own ventilator production to more than 1,000 per week by the end of June, a five-fold increase from pre-pandemic levels, as well as to increase the total global market ventilator production and training.
Medtronic is currently in limited market release for a remote management feature on the its critical care ventilators at several U.S. hospitals, which may reduce healthcare workers’ exposure to Covid-19 patients by allowing changes to ventilator settings from outside a patient’s room. The Puritan Bennett 980 remote capabilities were accelerated by collaborating with Intel Corporation. Medtronic is also collaborating with SpaceX to manufacture a critical component for its critical care ventilators.
In order to provide ventilator training for healthcare workers, Medtronic has partnered with other manufacturers, including Dräger, GE Healthcare, Getinge, Hamilton Medical, Nihon Kohden, Philips, Vyaire Medical, and others, to form the Ventilator Training Alliance.