Low Cost Ventilator Prototype Developed By Sydney University Team To Assist In COVID-19 Response

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MAY 13: Medical and Health PHD student, Claire Bridges and administration member of the CoVida FC100 ventilator prototype team at the University of Sydney poses on May 13, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. A team of academics and students from University of Sydney have been working together to develop an emergency ventilator for frontline use in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CoVida FC100 ventilator project was born after Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Gregg Suaning, put out a “call to arms” online inviting interested engineering students and professionals to contribute ideas to create a cost effective and locally produced ventilator that could be rapidly manufactured should there be any equipment shortages due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Australia. In conjunction with NSW Health Infrastructure, the University of Sydney team are now working to perfect the design of the CoVida FC100 ventilator and manufacture 10 prototypes which will then be used for further clinical assessment as they look to have the device approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for COVID-19 use in Australia. A total of 585 people have been involved in developing the CoVida FC100 design, with a core team of 8, which uses modern design tools and 3-D printer technology to build on existing proven ventilator technology from the 1990s. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)