First new Penlon ventilators ready for dispatch in UK

The UK government says that the first batch of Penlon ventilators made by UK manufacturers responding to an appeal by Prime Minister Boris Johnson for devices will be delivered to the NHS this weekend.

These ventilators, rapidly adapted from existing designs, will be ready for dispatch after approval from regulators that it meets the necessary safety requirements. They are being manufactured by a consortium, Ventilator ChallengeUK, which includes big names such as Formula 1 teams McLaren and Mercedes, Ford, Siemens and Meggitt.

An initial delivery will be ready this weekend, with potentially hundreds more of that device to follow, alongside thousands more of other new devices in the coming weeks.

Penlon manufactures and distributes products and systems for anaesthesia, intubation, oxygen therapy and suction. The company is also part of the consortium. The Penlon ventilator is based on elements found in their current range of CE marked products and meets the rapidly manufactured ventilator system specification.

It is a fully intubated mechanical ventilator designed to provide support to critically ill patients with a range of functions including volume and pressure controlled ventilation.

Penlon is currently working as part of The Ventilator ChallengeUK to produce ventilators for the NHS based on Penlon’s ESO2 system. (Photo: Penlon)

Other existing ventilator devices are also being scaled up, in collaboration with British and international industry, including products from Diamedica, Breas Medical and Smiths Group.

A number of other British manufacturers have also started urgent production of new ventilators, designed from scratch, following efforts from the industry and government to rapidly increase numbers available to the NHS.

The Government has provided a number of letters of intent to purchase potentially thousands more ventilators with companies who have credible designs, subject to them passing the regulator and strict safety tests.

There are a number of companies involved in these devices including Plexus, Rolls Royce, GKN Aerospace, Team Consulting, Cogent, Dyson, TTP plc, Sagentia, Smith & Nephew, Cambridge Consultants, PA Consulting, Babcock, Oxford University, OES Medical, BMW, Pitlane Consortium and Kings College London.

Separately, a team led by UCL, working with Mercedes Benz, will also produce 10,000 new CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) devices to support affected patients, with a team from Oxford University also developing related technology, which will increase the capacity to provide oxygen to affected patients at an earlier stage in the process of the disease.

The Ventilator ChallengeUK includes the following companies and groups:

• Airbus

• BAE Systems

• Ford Motor Company

• GKN Aerospace

• High Value Manufacturing Catapult

• Inspiration Healthcare Group

• Meggitt

• Penlon

• Renishaw

• Rolls-Royce

• Siemens Healthineers and Siemens UK

• Smiths Group

• Thales

• Ultra Electronics

• Unilever

• UK-based F1 teams: Haas F1,

• McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing,

• Racing Point, Renault Sport Racing,

• Williams

• Accenture

• Arrow Electronics

• Dell Technologies

• Microsoft

• PTC