NASA has developed the new VITAL at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California to mitigate the limited supply of traditional ventilators
VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally) is a new high-pressure ventilator developed by NASA. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.)
A new high-pressure ventilator developed by engineers at the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.
The new ventilator, dubbed VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), has been approved under the FDA’s ventilator Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA).
NASA has developed the device at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California to mitigate the limited supply of traditional ventilators for patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms.
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said: “This FDA authorisation is a key milestone in a process that exemplifies the best of what government can do in a time of crisis.
“This ventilator is one of countless examples of how taxpayer investments in space exploration – the skills, expertise and knowledge collected over decades of pushing boundaries and achieving firsts for humanity – translate into advancements that improve life on Earth.”
VITAL is being freely licensed for industrial manufacturers through Caltech
VITAL prototype has been previously tested at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, prior to the FDA’s review. California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which manages JPL for NASA, is currently providing a free license for the new ventilator.
Caltech chief innovation and corporate partnerships officer Fred Farina said: “Now that we have a design, we’re working to pass the baton to the medical community, and ultimately patients, as quickly as possible. To that end, we are offering the designs for licensing on a royalty-free basis during the time of the pandemic.”
NASA said that VITAL can be built rapidly and maintained more easily, compared to other traditional ventilators, and comprises very few parts. Patients are required to be sedated and have an oxygen tube inserted into their airway to use the ventilator.
In addition, the flexible design of the new ventilator can also be modified for use in field hospitals set up in convention centres, hotels and other high-capacity facilities across the country and around the globe.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said: “Fighting the virus and treating patients during this unprecedented global pandemic requires innovative approaches and action.
“It also takes an all hands-on deck approach, as demonstrated by the NASA engineers who used their expertise in spacecraft to design a ventilator tailored for very ill coronavirus patients.
“This example shows what we can do when everyone works together to fight COVID-19. We believe today’s action will increase availability of these life-saving medical devices. The FDA will continue to add products to this emergency use authorisation, as appropriate, during this pandemic to facilitate an increase in ventilator inventory.”