The government announced it would support a total of 11 devices, three of which come from Cambridge technology consultancies:
- Veloci-Vent, made by Cambridge Consultants Ltd and MetLase
- Sagentia Ventilator, made by Sagentia
- CoVent, made by TTP and Dyson (pictured)
It has ceased support for a fourth Cambridge design, EVA, made by TEAM and Cogent Technology.
The official announcement said:
Following a review by an expert panel of clinicians, including NHS clinicians and the regulator, the MHRA, the Government will be ending support for four devices in the Ventilator Challenge. Recognising the Government’s need to create effective ventilators at pace, the panel concluded that other designs could better meet the clinical needs of the NHS at this time.
Government efforts to increase ventilator capacity have already seen an additional 2,400 mechanical ventilators made available to the NHS since the start of the pandemic, with over 250 coming from the Ventilator Challenge so far. The number of extra ventilators rises to 6,745 in total, when you include both mechanical and non-invasive ventilators
The UK now has 10,900 mechanical invasive ventilators available to the NHS, as well as 4,300 non-invasive devices.
During the coronavirus pandemic, everyone who has required a ventilator has had access to one, but the Government will continue to increase capacity through its three pillar strategy: procuring more ventilators from overseas, scaling up the production of existing or modified designs and working to design and manufacture new devices.
Read the update on the Ventilator Challenge>>>
Image: TTP is working in partnership with Dyson on a new ventilator, CoVent.