* IMA President & CEO Mark Denzler on Facebook…

University of Illinois Chancellor Robert Jones reached out to me this afternoon with amazing news. The brilliant researchers and innovators at The Grainger College of Engineering and Carle Health have developed a prototype emergency ventilator.

The University of Illinois is a great member of the IMA and we’ve had a collaborative partnership.

The U of I and its Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science, Applied Research Institute, The TEKMILL, and Creative Thermal Solutions, Inc. collaborated on this project.

The University of Illinois and Illinois Manufacturers’ Association are now working together to test with an ultimate goal of ramping up production.

Go Illini!

…Adding… More…

The Illinois RapidVent, as the emergency ventilator is known, would plug into the oxygen source available in most hospital rooms or could plug into a tank of oxygen. The prototype has run for more than 75 hours, which is more than 125,000 breathing cycles. Over this time, the device delivered the amount of oxygen necessary and the pressure that patients would need when they are unable to breathe well enough on their own. So far, focused testing in the laboratory shows that the device performs as well as commercial products, which are in very short supply. The U.S. is experiencing a massive shortage of ventilators — most acutely in New York — that numbers in the thousands.

The team is collaborating with doctors and medical professionals on an ongoing basis to refine the design and make usability improvements, based on an evaluation of about a half-dozen existing products. A prototype was created using high-end additive manufacturing equipment and then tested at the University of Illinois and at Champaign-based Creative Thermal Solutions. Team members are also addressing necessary institutional and regulatory approvals for using the emergency ventilator and ramping up animal testing.

And there’s even more here.

*** UPDATE *** Crain’s on a breakthrough by Abbott Labs…

The North Chicago medical device maker today announced the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has authorized the use of its new coronavirus test, which delivers positive results within five minutes and negative results within 13.

The test, which runs on an existing, portable Abbott platform, can be used in various health care settings, including urgent care clinics and emergency departments, according to a statement. The company says it will eventually be able to make 50,000 tests available per day.