GOVPH

To support COVID-19 patients having breathing difficulty, the country's science agency has begun developing 3D printed ventilator and respirators.

 Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said that ventilators in small hospitals are now depleting. "Lalonghumirap ang pag-import ng ventilator kasi nag-aagawan ng supply," the science chief mentioned during the Interagency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Malacañang in Manila.

Two prototypes of 3D printed ventilator parts and respirator venturi valves were already turned over by DOST-Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI) to the National Children's Hospital in Quezon City. DOST Sec. de la Peña explained that once these prototypes have worked well in the first recipients, they will proceed with mass production.

The respirator venturi valves serve as the connection between the oxygen mask to the respirators. Meanwhile, the ventilator would allow two patients to benefit from one ventilator machine.

"We have identified electronic companies capable of producing these... Eight groups have already expressed their interest to do the ventilator research", the Secretary said.

This ventilator research falls under DOST's GINHAWA project; Ginhawa in Filipino language means comfort or ease.

Ginhawa or ReliefVent has been pegged earlier this year by the science agency as one of its 20 programs, services, activities and research and development projects that will be pushed for 2020. This project that started in 2012 is intended to develop ventilators for both children and adults confined at intensive care units of hospitals.

Ginhawa researchers, headed by pulmonologist Dr. AbundioBalgos of the University of the Philippines Manila, expect their innovation to be around 40% cheaper than its counterparts in the market. His collaborators from De La Salle University, led by a biomedical technician Glenn Tuazon, have redesigned their product recently in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (By David Matthew C. Gopilan, DOST-STII)