Ventec Life Systems is an American

medical device A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

company based in

Bothell, Washington Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 48,161 residen ...

History

Ventec Life Systems was founded in

, a suburb of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...

, by Doug DeVries. According to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Ventec is known for its VOCSN model, which received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in 2017. The VOCSN is the size of a large toaster oven, and combines a number of functions that had previously been performed by several machines to pump air into the lungs, suction out secretions, and produce oxygen when a central oxygen line is not available. It is used in critical-care hospital units and in home care. Jim Alwan is the CEO of Ventec and the Chief Strategy Officer of the company is Chris Brooks.

VOCSN

Ventec developed the VOCSN unified respiratory system, which is a portable personal medical device that includes a

ventilator A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...

, 6 L/min portable

oxygen concentrator An oxygen concentrator is a device that concentrates the oxygen from a gas supply (typically ambient air) by selectively removing nitrogen to supply an oxygen-enriched product gas stream. They are used industrially and as medical devices for ox ...

, cough assist, suction, and nebulization therapies for the patient. The name of the device is an acronym derived from the names of these five functions. It received

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

approval in April 2017, and began to roll out in 2018. The weight of the device is about eighteen pounds. It is designed for use by both children and adults to treat conditions such as muscular degeneration,

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...

, and underdeveloped lungs. As of 2017 it was medically cleared for use in the US and Japan. According to NBC News, its ventilators are transportable and include advanced data monitoring, as well as internal controls to make the most of oxygen consumption. The five-in-one technology compresses 55 pounds of equipment into 18 pounds, and it has a nine-hour battery life.

COVID-19 support

On March 21, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic,

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...

announced a partnership with Ventec Life Systems to produce ventilators. The partnership was expected to build 10,000 ventilators per month at GM's facilities in

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in Indiana and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard County, the Kokomo-Peru CSA, which includ ...

, using Ventec's VOCSN platform. Ventec is one of twelve worldwide manufacturers of ventilators. However, the partnership between Ventec and GM quickly received a $489 million government contract to deliver 30,000 VOCSN Critical Care Ventilators to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The delivered the first critical care ventilators to medical professionals that month, producing one ventilator every seven minutes in an effort the ''New Yorker'' called a "fighter jet in a race with prop planes". The partnership was named one of the 2020 "Top 10 Most Innovative Joint Ventures" by

FastCompany ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan We ...

References

{{reflist Companies based in Bothell, Washington Medical technology companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Washington (state) Mechanical ventilation