Headquartered out of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Emergency Ventilator Response group aka Spiro Devices is ramping up production of its new and innovative Spiro Wave ventilator, thanks to a $100,000 FuzeHub grant.
Spiro Devices was awarded the grant to begin making more of its "bridge ventilators" or "automatic resuscitators," favored for their ability to treat less critically ill COVID-19 patients in need of breathing assistance.
The device is not meant to replace traditional ventilators, which are needed for more critically ill patients, but it allows hospital staff to expand its capacity by making more ventilators available. The bridge ventilators allow for more functionality than manual resuscitation devices-- essentially, giving hospitals another tool in their toolbox.
The machine has fewer parts than a traditional ventilator and was designed to bypass the time, cost and supply chain hurdles regular ventilators face, meaning it can be produced quickly and affordably, said a Spiro Devices representative.
The FDA has given the Spiro Wave emergency use approval. It is already in New York hospitals and is on the way to many more. The Emergency Ventilator Response consortium, the team behind Spiro Devices, was established to confront the ventilator shortage. Team is now looking for manufacturers across the country and the world so they can share the design royalty-free and increase production.
FuzeHub executive director Elena Garuc said local manufacturers had been innovative, resourceful and courageous in addressing critical needs to combat the coronavirus.
"[They] pivoted quickly and focused intensely on trying to solve some of the biggest problems our world has ever faced," she said.
"Despite the magnitude of the challenge, these New York manufacturers stood tall and found a way to produce essential supplies that will help stop the spread of the virus and save lives."
