The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved plans to produce low-cost ventilators developed by a team of University of Minnesota researchers and an alumnus.
The Coventor will make its way to clinical settings where a traditional ventilator is not often easily accessible, according to researchers.
“Our hope is that the Coventor will be useful in those clinical settings where traditional ventilators are not available. With FDA authorization, we are closer to that happening,” said Stephen Richardson, a cardiac anesthesiology fellow in the Medical School, M Health Fairview.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke about the new ventilators during a media briefing on Wednesday.
"It's the first of its kind to be authorized for use under the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization for the COVID-19 outbreak," Walz said. "It was funded by the University's 'Rapid Response Grants' that spurs innovation around treating the virus."
Plans for the Coventor will be made open source so other manufacturers globally can begin their regulatory and production processes.
“This allows patients who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to survive, to survive,” Richardson said. “The Coventor gives people a chance and that is what this is all about. Making the ventilator as fast as possible, pushing it to people everywhere.”