Innovative ventilator prototype developed
DUBAI: Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), confirmed the launch of an innovative mechanical ventilator prototype, M061, comes in line with its sustained efforts to support frontline healthcare workers in their efforts to safeguard the lives of those affected by COVID-19.
Belhoul said that Project M061 was initiated and implemented under the directives of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation, to address the urgent need for large numbers of mechanical ventilators that play a crucial role in treating patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19.
In an earlier media statement, he noted that the development of the ventilator is part of the country’s efforts to deploy breakthrough technologies in the fight against COVID-19 and to enhance its healthcare capabilities.
Within the context of the intense pressure global supply chains face as a result of restrictions in different countries, the M061 Project serves as a response to calls for local ventilator production to meet the needs of the UAE population.
This crucial healthcare project is a partnership between Dubai Future Foundation, Office of Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Dubai COVID-19 Command and Control Centre, Ministry of Health and Prevention, Dubai Health Authority, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and government agencies, research centres and international institutions.
The Dubai Future Foundation assembled an interdisciplinary team of local and international engineers, programmers, industry experts and healthcare specialists to develop the robust and rapid prototype mechanical ventilator that would also contribute to the international open source network that has emerged to tackle the device shortage.
Over an eight-week period, the project team worked relentlessly to design and build the M061 ventilator system as a modular and scalable prototype, relying on interchangeable components that are easy to source and integrate, in an effort to circumvent the world-wide scarcity of crucial medical supplies.
By closely studying existing ventilator designs, the team identified functionality and durability as two key elements that would help make a difference and define the M061 ventilator.