3 Indian cos to make NASA’s Covid-19 ventilator

Three Indian companies are Alpha Design Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bharat Forge Ltd and Medha Servo Drives Pvt Ltd, have got licences from NASA to manufacture its indigenously developed ventilators for critical COVID-19 patients. Besides them, 18 other companies too have been selected for the same purpose. 

The prototype, called VITAL, was created by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory received ‘Emergency Use Authorization’ from the US Food and Drug Administration on April 30. The VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally) equipment uses one-seventh the parts of a traditional ventilator and offers a simple, affordable option for treating critical patients while freeing up traditional ventilators for those with the most severe COVID-19 symptoms.

“Our hope is to have this technology reach across the world and provide an additional source of solutions to deal with the on-going COVID-19 crisis,” said Leon Alkalai, manager of the JPL Office of Strategic Partnerships.