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 in the Eastside region. It had a population of 48,161 reside ...

History

Ventec Life Systems was founded in

, a suburb of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, by Doug DeVries. According to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 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 type of breathing apparatus, a class 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 breathi ...

, 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, to provide supplemental oxygen ...

, 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 ...

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. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Symptoms of ...

, 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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

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 and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

, 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.

References

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