Jenton: A breath of fresh air for NHS ventilators

Jenton International was one of the first PPMA member companies to respond to the Government’s pledge to manufacture ventilators to support COVID-19 NHS patients.

The Hampshire-based company responded to the ventilator challenge in mid-March 2020 after reviewing the specification from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The information was for a simple system, using a BVM (bag-valve mask) ventilation aid and a gas-powered pneumatic piston to squeeze it.

Befitting of its manufacturing and testing capabilities, Jenton was able to produce its first ventilator in just three days, before notifying the Government, who had commissioned PA Consulting to oversee the ventilator procurement project.

While waiting for a reply to have its product evaluated, the company took the time to analyse the system and noticed that there were drawbacks with the original design.

The Oxygen bottle powered BVM-based system could cope with mandatory ventilation (when the patient is unconscious), but not non-mandatory and had no sensing capabilities or feedback system.

Therefore, Jenton worked on developing an innovative stepper motor powered unit using off the shelf parts, coupled with the help and co-operation of Festo and B+R for controls, First-Sensor for sensors and DERO for fabricated parts.

The unit was capable of being assembled quickly, with maximum use of off-the-shelf parts and using Jenton’s in-house software to meet the revised NHS standards. This facilitated the control of oxygen levels, input and output pressure and control and full feedback.

To view the company’s prototype ventilator, click on the link below to watch a short video (narrated by Dr Russell Sion, Technical Director, Jenton International).

For more information on Jenton International.

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