From Tech Briefs “NASA’s ‘VITAL’ Ventilator Gets FDA Approval”

From Tech Briefs:

“A low-cost, low-complexity ventilator developed by NASA engineers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  this week.

With the FDA’s March 24  ventilator Emergency Use Authorization, the system can now support COVID-19 patients.

The “VITAL,” or Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally, system has fewer parts than a traditional, high-end ventilator and can therefore be built faster and maintained more easily. Many of the VITAL components are currently available to potential manufacturers through existing supply chains.

“It is tailored specifically for COVID-19 patients as we consulted directly with doctors who were treating patients in the hospital,” said Leon Alkalai, one of the leaders of the ventilator project and manager of JPL Office of Strategic Partnerships, who communicated with Tech Briefs via email.”

By Billy Hurley, Digital Editorial Manager

Read the Full Article here.