Medtronic Releases Full Design Specifications of PB 560 Ventilator to Support Global Pandemic Response

Recently,Medical Devicesand the biomedical engineering company Medtronic frequently become the focus of media attention, andTeslaFollowing CEO Elon Musk’s discussion on how to retool production lines to meet ventilator demand, the company announced on March 31 that it was once again making publicly available the complete design specifications, production manuals, design documents, and software code for the Puritan Bennett (PB) 560 portable ventilator.

The PB 560 ventilator offers numerous advantages, with its most prominent features being its compact design and ease of mobility and installation, allowing it to meet the needs of diverse medical environments and settings. First launched on the market in 2010, this ventilator has undergone more than a decade of rigorous clinical validation.

In light of the current coronavirus pandemic, an increasing number of companies have joined the ranks of ventilator manufacturers. However, for non-specialist players, retrofitting existing production lines is a highly challenging task. Medtronic’s initiative has undoubtedly provided significant assistance to these companies.

John Jordan, External Communications Director of Medtronic’s Minimally Invasive Therapies Group, stated: “We are sharing the design specifications for [PB 560] to enable stakeholders across various industries to evaluate options for rapid ventilator manufacturing, thereby helping physicians and patients combat COVID-19.”

He stated that Medtronic currently also manufactures other, more complex ventilators, including the PB 980 and PB 840; however, this requires the company to source more than 1,500 components from various specialized manufacturers and rely on “skilled and specialized labor” as well as an “interconnected global supply chain.” The PB 560 is relatively simpler in design, making it an optimal choice for emerging ventilator companies with limited experience.