Project VentShot

Project VentShot is a venture to manufacture the low cost VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally) ventilator in Nigeria. This venture was initiated against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, as awareness of the need for medical ventilators came to the fore. This need, resulted in an initial spike in the demand for and consequent shortage of ventilators globally.

As a response to the pandemic and the initial demand for ventilators, the engineers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) at Caltech, Pasadena, California, developed the VITAL ventilator specifically for use with COVID-19 patients. The VITAL ventilator was approved for use on April 30th 2020 by the Food and Drug Administration of the USA (FDA) under the FDA’s March 24th 2020 Ventilator Emergency Use Authorization.

NASA received more than 100 applications for a license to build and distribute the ventilator. Thus far, it has licensed 28 companies globally. Techno-Diffusion Company Limited is one of the 28 and the only one in Sub Saharan Africa.

The demand for ventilators moderated significantly as treatment regimens for Covid-19 patients evolved and ventilators were no longer seen as critical in all cases. However, it remains true that for cases where a ventilator is indicated, there is no substitute. Furthermore, ventilators are indicated in medical conditions beyond Covid-19, and in Nigeria, there has been and continues to be, a chronic shortage of these devices.

The VITAL ventilator is simpler and cheaper to build than regular medical ventilators and uses parts that are commonly available through suppliers, using around 1/7th the number of components as traditional alternatives. This makes it possible for countries to build the ventilators more quickly and at lower costs.