One of the shocking realities in the war against COVID-19 is the disproportionally high number of critically ill victims who currently depend on ventilators for their survival. Virtually every country with high levels of novel coronavirus cases has had to resort to emergency stockpiles and procurement methods to access the life-saving ventilator equipment. Thankfully, many companies (and even individuals) have stepped up to the plate to help respond to this medical crisis.
That is why, in a bid to help increase the rapid manufacturing of ventilators for hospitals and other urgent care facilities around the world, Medtronic has announced that it is publicly sharing the design specifications for its Puritan Bennett 560 (PB 560) ventilator.
Introduced in 2010, the PB 560 is a compact and portable ventilator that provides airway support for both adults and children. It can be used in clinical settings or at home, and provides mobile respiratory support.
Medtronic’s design specs for the PB 560 have been published in two releases: v1 includes 200 pages of documentation concerning the use of the ventilator, while v2 has manufacturing fixtures, printed circuit board drawings (including multiple BOMs), mechanical part drawings, and all of the machine’s 3D CAD files. Some of the ventilator parts can even be produced via 3D printer, potentially further increasing the production and assembly speed of the PB 560s.
In addition to providing the design specs for the PB 560, Medtronic has increased its overall production capabilities by more than 40 percent and is on track to more than double its capacity to manufacture and supply ventilators in response to the urgent needs of COVID-19 patients. The company is also engaged with car manufacturer Tesla to bolster ventilator manufacturing operations. Tesla recently reopened its New York production facility to manufacture medical devices for Medtronic instead of solar panels.
The PB 560 ventilator files are available on Medtronic’s website.