Locally developed ventilator to assist Covid-19 positive patients

A locally developed ventilator aimed at assisting Covid-19 positive patients who showed respiratory distress in the early stages of infection was expected to be rolled out.

The first batch of ventilators – worked on by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – was expected to be rolled out into state hospitals which were experiencing pressure to the unavailability of equipment needed to deal with the global pandemic.

CSIR executive manager of future production manufacturing Martin Sanne said the national ventilator project (NVP) required the rapid development and distributed production of a non-invasive pre-intubation ventilation solution for most Covid-19 positive patients who were hospitalised as part of government’s response plan to the pandemic.

“While ensuring that we achieve this in a short period of time, we had to ensure that we follow a rigorous, documented product life-cycle methodology that would ensure scalable manufacturing, as well as compliance and licensing under the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO),” he said.

CSIR’s solution was a continuous positive airway pressure which was said to use an innovative design to provide a mild level of oxygenated air pressure to keep the airways open and ultimately assist with breathing.

The non-invasive units were expected to fill the need for readily available breathing apparatus. It can be deployed and applied easily even for use of outside of hospitals, such as field hospitals and quarantine facilities where interventions were necessary for patients who were at an early and non-intensive stage of respiratory distress brought along by the virus.

The project named CSIR Lung Inspiratory Flow Enabler (LIFE), used standard, hospital-grade oxygen supply and featured easy-to-use flow gauges.

“This way we remain true to the role of CSIR – to perform research and development that is cutting edge, involves the local industry in their niche areas and ensures that together we address issues that are of national importance,” Sanne said.

CSIR’s discussions were also said to be ongoing with the departments of health and that of trade, industry and competition to produce additional devices before the end of August as data on the spread of the virus became available.

The science and research council further said it was also working on another project with a local partner to develop a ventilator for patients who experienced more severe symptoms.

The units were expected to assist with inhalation and exhalation in either fixed or pressure modes.

Through sensing the oxygen supply needed by a patient and adjusting the pressure accordingly.

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