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Tackling COVID-19 and supporting UK industry

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Coronavirus

Ventilators

Low cost ventilator technology: Introducing the PocketVent

NPL has created a low cost and easy to manufacture ventilator design, the PocketVent, in response to the need for affordable ventilator technologies in emerging markets. NPL developed several different ventilator prototypes, which led to the design of the PocketVent, a simple to use device that requires limited training time for healthcare professionals and is made from widely available parts.

When the Department for International Development (DFID) announced the urgent need for low-cost ventilator technologies in developing countries, NPL was able to build on it's testing knowledge to rapidly design its own solution. The PocketVent design:

  • Meets the critical functionality and performance requirements detailed in the MHRA specification for ventilation
  • Costs approximately £1000 to build – vastly cheaper than a typical ventilator
  • Is compact – it is a similar size to a laptop
  • Low power consumption (approximately 30W)
  • Designed to be compatible with pressurised oxygen
  • Could be powered from a battery in future
  • Can also be operated as a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) respiratory device
  • Is extensively tested with NPL’s dedicated ventilator test facility

NPL is now looking to share its designs with local manufacturing and healthcare organisations in areas experiencing demand for ventilators, ensuring these devices can be used where they are needed most.

Read our press release on the production and supply of ventilators

Enabling the production and supply of ventilators

As COVID-19 became an international pandemic, NPL used its significant capabilities as the UK’s National Metrology Institute to support several initiatives aiming to combat coronavirus, including the UK Government’s initial call for rapidly manufactured ventilator systems.

As well as designing developing low cost ventilators, NPL has worked with several UK-based organisations to help them understand the performance of their ventilator prototypes, using a dedicated and independent testing facility. 

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued specification guidance for rapidly manufactured ventilators, and many companies stepped up to begin the manufacturing process. This was often outside their usual scope of expertise, therefore resulting in the need for measurement experts to be on hand to support.

As an impartial and independent national laboratory, NPL is uniquely placed to:

  • test and validate materials, components and sensors
  • offer guidance on compliance to quality standards
  • provide access to world leading measurement experts.

Creating a low cost and easy to produce ventilator in short duration and from a standstill would seem an impossible task, though that is what the NPL Ventilator team have achieved. The foundation of this instrument development has been NPL’s measurement and test capabilities, these were established to support many of the UK’s ventilator development projects. This testing ability at NPL guided the design of the Pocket Vent which was created by staff within NPL’s Instrument Development Group. The dedication of the whole NPL Ventilator team during the pandemic has been inspiring.

Paul Shore, Head of Engineering, NPL - NPL North

For further details on the production and supply of ventilators please contact us now.

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