COVER STORY | C OVID-19
INDUSTRY STEPS UPThe crisis facing the globe as a result of the
Coronavirus pandemic has meant engineers
and engineering have been at the forefront of
the fight against it. Paul Fanning reports.
As things stand, it is hard
to imagine positives from
the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indeed, it almost seems
vaguely distasteful to do so given the
havoc that it is wreaking on people’s
health and welfare across the globe.
However, if there are positives to
be drawn, one that seems likely is
that it has forced society to realise
the value of roles and professions
that previously were largely taken for
granted. These range from supply
chain logistics to shelf-stacking;
lorry driving to cleaning, we are all
discovering a new-found appreciation
of the importance of certain jobs to
our way of life.
In particular, the importance
of engineering design and
manufacturing has been thrust
into the limelight by Covid-19. The
dawning realisation that the NHS
would not have sufficient ventilators
to cope with the demand caused by
the disease has forced government
to call upon the UK’s engineers and
manufacturers to help design and
manufacture these life-saving pieces
of equipment within a timeframe
that would have been considered
impossible in normal circumstances.
Ventilators are vital in helping the
worst-affected Covid-19 patients with
respiratory issues. They work like
artificial lungs to provide oxygen
and remove carbon dioxide. NHS
chief executive Sir Stephens has
said the health service has 6,699
adult mechanical ventilators and
750 paediatric ventilators that can
be repurposed, while there are an
estimated 691 in the private sector
and 35 in the Ministry of Defence.
As reported in our previous issue,
a Downing Street spokesman said
of this drive: “We’re calling on the
manufacturing industry and all those
with relevant expertise who might be
able to help to come together to help
the country tackle this national crisis.
We need to step up production of vital
equipment such as ventilators so that
we can all help the most vulnerable,
and we need businesses to come to
us and help in this national effort.”
To say that the response has
been heartening would be an
understatement. Eureka’s editorial
inbox has been flooded with news
of companies responding to this
request.
Clearly this is an ongoing situation
to which there are bound to be
updates in forthcoming months, but
some of the early developments
include the announcement that
TTP, the Cambridgeshire-based
technology and product development
company, is working with Dyson to
produce 15,000 ventilators.
Known as The CoVent, their
version is a bed-mounted, portable
ventilator that can run on mains or
battery power, meaning it can be
used in field hospitals if required.
Providing it receives regulatory
approval, the government will pay for
10,000 of Dyson and TTP’s ventilators.
A further 1,000 will be donated here,
while the remaining 4,000 are being
produced for other countries.
TTP could not comment on the
plans at this stage, but it is believed
the companies created a prototype
within 10 days, and it is hoped that the
first ones will be in hospitals within
weeks.
James Dyson, the founder of Dyson
was contacted by the Prime Minister
to produce the ventilators. “Since I
received a call from Boris Johnson,’
he wrote in an email to staff, “we have
refocused resources at Dyson, and
worked with TTP, The Technology
Partnership, to design and build an
entirely new ventilator, The CoVent.”
“This new device can be
manufactured quickly, efficiently and
at volume. It is designed to address
10 WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK | MAY 2020
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