University signs agreement to develop Covid-19 ventilator in Africa

University signs agreement to develop Covid-19 ventilator in Africa

A ventilator developed by space scientists at the University of Aberdeen is to be used in the fight against Covid-19 in Africa.

The University has signed an agreement with a medical device company in Rwanda that will assemble the ATMO-Vent (Atmospheric Mixture Optimization Ventilator) for use in hospital settings in Rwanda and neighbouring countries.

The University’s Planetary Sciences Group developed the device in response to worldwide efforts to produce more ventilators to treat Covid-19 patients.

They used their expertise in the development of life support systems for manned space missions to build the device, which uses certified and low-cost components which are commercially available for use on Earth.

Quicker to build, more cost-effective and more user-friendly than any other model currently in development, the design means that it is suited for rapid deployment in healthcare settings worldwide.

This led to the agreement with the Kigali-based Medical Technology Company (MTC) Ltd, which designs and manufactures medical equipment, working closely with the University of Rwanda.

Professor Javier Martín-Torres, who heads the Planetary Sciences Group, said: “As a group we are very excited to see that the University has signed this agreement with MTC Ltd to develop the ATMO-Vent in Rwanda.

“We designed the ATMO-Vent in response to worldwide efforts to produce more ventilators for Covid-19 patients, using our experience in developing instruments for Earth and planetary exploration to build a device suited for rapid deployment in healthcare settings worldwide.

“We are delighted to see it begin to fulfil its intended purpose, and my hope is that our research group can support the development of ATMO-Vent in Rwanda to a point where MTC Ltd can be completely independent in its production of the device.”

Professor Marion Campbell, Vice Principal for Research at the University of Aberdeen, said: “This agreement came about through the active links between the School of Geosciences and the University of Rwanda, which underlines the importance of international scientific collaboration in meeting global challenges.

“Across multiple disciplines, our research community is working as part of a broad effort to harness our world-renowned academic expertise in the fight against Covid-19, and this is a prime example of how our researchers are applying their skills to meet the challenges created by the pandemic.”

Search News

Browse by Month

2024

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2024
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2024
  6. Jun
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2024
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2024
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2024
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2024
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2024
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2024

2023

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2023
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2023
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2023
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2023
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2023
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2023

2020

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2020
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2020
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2020
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2019

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2019
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2019
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2019
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2019
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2019
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2019
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2019
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2019
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2019

2018

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2018
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2018
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2018
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2017

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2017
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2017
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2017
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2017
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2017
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2017
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2017
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2017

2016

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2016
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2016
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2016

2014

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2014
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2014
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2014
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2013

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2013
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2013
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2013
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2013
  5. May
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2013
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2013
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2013
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2013
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2013
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2013
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2013

2012

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2012
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2012
  3. Mar
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2012
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2012
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2012
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2012
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2012
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2012
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2012
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2012
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2012

2011

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2011
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2011
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2011
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2011
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2011
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2011
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2011