Takeover Tuesday

by | Jul 10, 2020 | Newsletter | 0 comments

Welcome to another week with The Ventilator Project.
We’re creeping into mid-July, now. At a time when many would be looking forward wistfully to summer vacations, the United States may be headed for a second round of shutdowns.
According to the Washington Post, researchers say that for Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Georgia stay-at-home orders are “no longer optional” and “should be mandatory.” Another fifteen states are in a state of “accelerated spread” which means more aggressive testing and tracing should be implemented to prevent the situation from getting any further out of hand. 
It’s truly saddening to acknowledge how much the COVID-19 pandemic has taken from us, especially when there’s no clear end to the crisis in sight. As difficult as life can be at a time like this, it’s a blessing to be able to work on a project that’s going to make a difference saving the lives of patients in critical condition.

PRODUCT UPDATES

The reality of testing is that paperwork is one of the longest phases. It takes a lot to get over the hurdle of Emergency Use Authorization, but we’re approaching the light at the end of the tunnel. While we’re waiting on the Intertek testing facility to flesh out some manufacturing details, our Policy team has been looking ahead and gathering the documentation for a non-emergency FDA clearance as well as necessary budgeting information for our non-profit status.
Our final unit has been sent to Intertek for a second round of external testing. We’re excited to be gearing up for the next version of ARIA, which will include more features for better patient care. Also, our website has been updated with the latest renderings of the finished product.       
On the manufacturing side, this week saw the completion of a Bill of Materials for our supply chain. We’ve gained accurate descriptions of what different components of the ventilator are constructed from, and therefore the true cost of each component.
Finally, a team of specialists in medical device software at MedAcuity have generously donated their services to us for the next few weeks. They’ll be helping us with documentation as well as testing and procedures.  
Thank you for lending your expertise. We’re looking forward to working with you!

COMPANY UPDATES 

This week, We’re glad to be putting out more information on what goes on at TVP.
We’ve launched a new “Takeover Tuesday” initiative on Instagram, which has already earned us a significant bump in followers! Each week, a volunteer from a different department of our office will take over our instagram story, capturing their day in a series of short video clips. Julia from the Marketing Department kicked things off this past week with a profile of what her team is doing and why its members joined the mission.

This is a great way to get to know the volunteers makes The Ventilator Project what it is! Follow us on instagram to see who takes over next week!

Don’t forget to check out our new blog post on the evolution of AIRA! It’s fascinating to look back on how we’ve spent these past few months. We’ve come such a long way in such a short amount of time, and it’s easy to get so focused on moving forward that we forget to recognize the journey we took to get here.

There are still four days left to place an order for our latest t-shirt drive. We’ve raised over a thousand dollars already! This is a huge help, so send the link to as many people as you can! By buying a shirt, you’ll be supporting our cause and get your hands on some one-of-a-kind TVP merch in the process.

In another exciting update, we’re launching another TVP T-Shirt drive with a stylin’ new design! As always, all profits go towards expediting the manufacturing of our ventilator to get it to market as quickly as possible. We want to save as many lives as we can during the COVID-19 crisis.

Since the initiative began, we’ve raised over $100K to develop and get our ventilator to market, quickly approaching our first fundraising goal of $120K. 

Thanks to all our donors and contributors, with your contributions we have made our first payment towards external testing!
A sincere thank you to everyone who has been following our progress supporting us thus far. Your contribution truly matters.

Are We There Yet?

Since the initiative began, TVP has been intently focused on securing the Emergency Use Authorization to distribute our ventilator to under-resourced hospitals and healthcare centers across the country. Every dollar raised, every partner gained, and every new step undertaken has been in pursuit of that goal. We’ve now reached a point where we can say with certainty that EUA submission is within reach.         
“We’re there,” said TVP founder Tyler Mantel at this week’s team-wide meeting. “We just need to make sure we’re not losing sight at the last minute and we’re submitting everything correctly.”
We wish you a safe and fulfilling weekend! Please take care of yourself, stay informed of national news, and be ready for more exciting TVP updates.
 
Sincerely,
The Ventilator Project