Due to the increasing demand for ventilators to attend to patients with COVID-19 , biomedical engineers from the “Salvador Zubirán” National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition developed a non-expensive model that is ready for production and for its use in humans, according to its creators.
Based on an old model and with specifications provided by medical experts, the engineers created the “VSZ-20” ventilator, whose name makes reference to the institute and the current year.
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David Kershenobich
, director of the institute, said that the equipment has the advantage of not having to search for ventilators from other countries in addition to being available in the most critical moment of the coronavirus pandemic.
In that vein, the VSZ-20 is already certified by the Federal Commission for Protection Against Health Risks (COFEPRIS) for its use after running several trials with artificial lungs, healthy pigs, and pigs with induced pneumonia.
With support from two private companies and the Tec de Monterrey’s TECSALUD , the engineers created the ventilator with a majority of national pieces, which, they assert, reduces the possibilities of a shortage.
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Moreover, the VSZ-20 costs USD $10,000 , which makes it almost half the average price of other ventilators.
The first batch will consist of 1,500 units , which will be donated to health authorities for their distribution throughout the country according to their needs.
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