What have we learned from the Ventilator Challenge?

There are many ways Covid-19 will change the way that medical devices are developed. There’s been unprecedented media coverage of device development - the Ventilator Challenge, visors and masks etc. It’s really raised the profile of medical device development and engineering around the world. In the UK we’ve heard lots about large teams working tirelessly to create medical devices, particularly respirators – all in an incredibly short time. I am interested to learn of the techniques, facts and figures for how this was achieved? I am keen to learn whether lots of work was done voluntarily by staff members or if an investment was made by the companies involved in the hope it would pay off later? Or, if the UK government funded all or some of the work so no one was massively out of pocket?

The thing that’s striking to me is how compacted the development times and final approvals, if gained, have been. How was this achieved?

• Were new development techniques or ways of working used?
• Were new systems or software used to gain the acceleration?
• Was the majority of the team on site or working from home?
• What can be taken away and learnt by other design teams and the industry as a whole?
• Will this become the new norm for medical device development?

As a company we’ve spent a lot of time looking at how to speed up medical device development, we’ve learnt a great deal. If anyone involved with the ventilator work has any insight or can signpost to any reading, I would really like to learn more.