ICNAS-Produção, a company from the University of Coimbra (UC), has just completed the installation of the first Iberian laboratory specialized in the testing and certification of respiratory medical devices, namely pulmonary ventilators, in the context of Covid-19.
It is called VentiLab 4 COVID-19 and results from a project that obtained 329 thousand euros in financing from COMPETE 2020, through the Incentive System for R&D Companies and Testing and Optimization Infrastructures (COVID-19).
In view of the current pandemic situation, in which pressure in hospitals increases due to the high number of serious infections caused by Covid-19, emergency ventilators are critical. However, these medical devices can only be used after certification.
This laboratory allows for the «physical-chemical and microbiological tests indicated by INFARMED [competent authority for certification in Portugal], according to international standards (“ISO” standards), to assess the biocompatibility and safety of fans developed in the scope of the response to Covid-19 pandemic. The standards are applicable to all types of fans», explains Antero Abrunhosa, ICNAS-Produção manager and project leader.
VentiLab 4 COVID-19 has analytical equipment capable of assessing the quality of the gases passing through the fans and “ensuring that the devices do not release contaminants that could be harmful to patients. These contaminants can be particles, volatile compounds that are released, for example, by the materials used to manufacture the fans, or even microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi”, explains Antero Abrunhosa.
The manager of ICNAS-Produção emphasizes that this project is “an example of how we can adapt the laboratories and scientific knowledge existing in companies and universities to face the current situation. ICNAS-P produces medicines, has laboratories for its Quality Control. Through this project, it has now adapted one of these laboratories to test the fans”.
Currently, in the Iberian space there are no laboratories dedicated to testing emergency ventilators within the scope of Covid-19. Thus, VentiLab 4 COVID-19 is the first Iberian laboratory built specifically to test all types of emergency ventilators developed in the context of the pandemic, allowing for certification, essential for the clinical use of this equipment.
