CHOP spinoff, Villanova professor share the same goal: Produce a low-cost ventilator
Philadelphia Business Journal

Two initiatives, one by a startup medical device company in the Philadelphia suburbs and the other being led by a local university professor, are aiming to address the shortage of ventilators now in high demand by COVID-19 patients.

The Society of Critical Care Medicine has projected that during the pandemic as many as 960,000 coronavirus patients in the U.S. may need to be put on ventilators — but only about 200,000 currently exist.

X-Biomedical, a medtech company spun out of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2017, has decided to temporarily shift its focus to producing low-cost ventilators.

Creating a similar product is also the goal of a team from Villanova University that is led by College of Engineering Professor C. Nataraj.

Nataraj said conversations he had with several physician friends who talked about the need for ventilators is what spurred him to lead the project. The conversations include one who talked about signing death certificates for COVID-19 patients who may have otherwise been helped had more ventilators been available.

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Aramark begins making PPE gear for health care workers
Philadelphia Business Journal

Aramark will shift its uniforms production lines to make personal protective equipment for health care workers tackling the COVID-19 crisis.

The Philadelphia-based food, uniforms and facilities company said Monday it will produce respirator and medical masks, scrubs and isolation gowns. Shipments of scrubs and isolation gowns started last week. The manufacturing of respirator and medical masks is expected to start by mid-July. Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) expects to make “millions” of masks, scrubs and gowns.

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