Surgical simulator specialist turns to ventilator parts and PPE

Laparoscopic surgery simulator specialists Inovus Medical has converted its manufacturing lines to develop parts for ventilators and personal protection equipment (PPE) as part of two new projects to help battle Coronavirus.  

Inovus Medical CEO, Dr Elliot Street said: “The various products needed by front line healthcare staff in the fight against the pandemic have been well publicised over the last few weeks with two items (ventilators and PPE) becoming overnight household words. Having seen the overwhelming demand for these items and knowing the unique position we as a company are in to design and manufacture both, we took the decision to convert our manufacturing lines to aid in the production of ventilators and face visors in the hope that we can do our bit in the fight against COVID-19.”

The company’s actions are designed to help protect the lives of key workers in the NHS and social care environments and assist in the care of patients across the UK.

Its design and engineering team were called upon to utilise their expertise and the company’s additive manufacturing capabilities to assist in the production of these parts. The company has since been manufacturing components for the ventilators with the first parts being delivered to the consortium in under a week from receiving the call to help.

Protecting front line care givers is critical to helping the fight against COVID-19 and, in response to repeated requests from existing customers to help with this protection, the design team at Inovus have conceptualised and designed an emergency face visor to help meet this demand. The face visor uses the same production level 3D printing technology as that used for the ventilator parts to enable large scale manufacturing and supply of the visors.

Within a week of the first request for face visors the Inovus Medical team designed and tested the product, built technical files and other documentation to be in line with the necessary EU directives governing such products and installed a new manufacturing and assembly line in its St Helens based factory.