UWI teams up to make ventilators, face masks

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered the global demand for ventilators to keep critical patients alive with First World counties such as the US, Italy, Spain and France snapping up the machines off the assembly lines.

At home, while health officials are saying we have a sufficient stock of 69 ventilators for critical covid19 patients, the UWI St Augustine campus has taken a proactive stance and will soon manufacture the machines to ensure this country does not risk running short of the essential item.

Speaking about the initiative, acting manager of the campus’ marketing and communications department Christine Nanton said, “This is crucial because many of the designs publicly available for ventilators are inadequate and, in some cases, actually dangerous for use.”

The idea was conceived in early March by Jeevan Persad, a senior engineering technician in the campus’ Faculty of Engineering.

At the directive of campus principal Prof Brian Copeland, Persad has created a team of seven staff members from the campus’ electrical and computer engineering department.

Part of the team’s task is to locally source materials to make the ventilators.

“This is a national effort and the UWI team is actively seeking support from all sectors, particularly those who can provide manufacturing, materials, and monetary support,” said Nanton.

While the idea is still in its development stages, campus officials have met with officials from the health ministry, the TT Manufacturers Association (TTMA), CARIRI and Dr Anthony Parkinson, director of health at the North-West Regional Health Authority.

“Not only is this effort required to mitigate the very real danger of potentially losing lives to covid19, due to a lack of essential medical equipment, but it is a chance for the people of TT to take an active stance against this pandemic.”

Nanton said individuals and companies like Wendy Fitzwilliam, Gregory Aboud, MIC, Lensyl products and TYE Manufacturing have already committed support to effort.

In additional to the ventilators, the campus will also seek to make face shields, n95 face masks for medical personnel and face masks for the general public.

Nanton said the university aims to ensure there is a local manufacturing capacity to meet any potential national covid19 needs related to medical supplies.

Unrelated to the campus’ efforts, BHP TT recently announced a $3.5 million donation in equipment and services to this country’s covid19 response. Part of the contribution will be two ventilated beds with the accompanying equipment.

So, what are ventilators and why are you hearing more about them now? The World Health Organization estimates that one in six covid19 will reach a critical stage where breathing becomes difficult as the virus affects lung functions. Gently pumping air through a breathing tube into the lungs, ventilators help patients breathes as it gives oxygen and removes carbon dioxide.

At the Ministry of Health’s covid19 press briefing on Friday, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh revealed there are 69 ventilators dedicated to the care of covid19 patients with an additional ten more expected to arrive in the country soon.

Six of the new ventilators are for use in Trinidad while the remaining four will be sent to Tobago. However, Deyalsingh assured the country has no shortage of ventilators- at this moment- as the current 69 ventilators can treat up to 1500 covid19 patients. As of Friday, there were 109 confirmed positive covid19 cases.

With confirmed covid19 cases in the US exceeding 500,000– the highest in the world – US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered General Motors to make over 30,000 ventilators. Other companies like Ford are pitching in.

In the Caribbean, Barbados’ PM Mia Mottley revealed that Barbadian superstar Rihanna purchased ventilators worth approximately US$700,000 to help the country’s covid19 response.

In Jamaica, Dr Paul Aiken led a team to repair eight out-of-commission ventilators. Aiken manages the UWI Mona campus’ faculty of engineering commercial arm and the deed was part of #CitizensResponseJA, an emergency effort to build ventilators and face shields.