A ventilator that costs less, and is locally made | Justin Jonas | TEDxJohannesburgSalon скачать в хорошем качестве

A ventilator that costs less, and is locally made | Justin Jonas | TEDxJohannesburgSalon

NOTE FROM TED: Research around COVID-19 remains an ongoing and evolving field of study. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t... Medical ventilators have been central to the narrative of COVID-19 across the world. But, thanks to social media, the plague of misinformation that has become synonymous with the pandemic has turned the technology into a villain: you get COVID-19, you go into hospital, they put you on a ventilator, the ventilator kills you. For scientist, technologist, and leader of the South African government-sponsored National Ventilator Project (NVP), Professor Justin Jonas, this is not true. Let’s take a closer look. Only twenty percent of people who get infected with SARS-Cov-2 end up in a hospital. Only four percent of that number ever actually need a full ventilator with specialised ICU services and personnel. And then there is the curious group of mild infections. In their case, patients don’t need a full ventilator. And, a simple oxygen mask is not good enough to do the job. The South African government tasked Justin and his team with developing a ventilator for this group. The team set out to engineer an appropriate, locally manufactured solution that would cost less money and save more lives. Within a few months, against many odds, the team delivered twenty thousand Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) ventilator units for use in public hospitals throughout South Africa. The devices are simple to use and don’t need highly skilled personnel. Best of all, they cost just $80 per unit. A full-function ventilator costs a whopping $25,000. This project proves that it is feasible for South Africa and other countries facing similar challenges to reduce their dependence on foreign suppliers of critical medical equipment. Justin provides technical direction and oversight for all activities undertaken by SKA South Africa, through interaction with scientists, engineers, technicians and programme managers. Areas of influence include telescopes and associated instruments, sites and infrastructure to support these, and the training of engineers and technicians to build and operate them. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx