The coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses to shift gears, over the last few weeks. For some companies, it has meant finding ways to continue business remotely. However, for others, it has meant completely shifting their business to help out with the efforts to combat COVID-19. PC system builder MAINGEAR is one such company. The company announced today that they will be switching from building PC systems, to building the MAINGEAR LIV, a ventilator specifically for use in medical facilities. The company is located just outside of New York City, which has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus.
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Ventilators built by the company will be sent to area hospitals in need. According to the company, the MAINGEAR LIV will also be more affordable than most other ventilators on the market. The machine will be sold at about a quarter of the price of other ventilators, but will still remain a practical option for use in intensive care units. The MAINGEAR LIV will also be easy to use, as well. The ventilator will have “an easy to use touchscreen interface, redundant power supplies, and other failsafe measures for emergency medical use.”
Before production of the MAINGEAR LIV began, the company assembled a board of advisors in order to find ways to help with the pandemic. MAINGEAR founder and CEO Wallace Santos claims that this quickly led to the ventilator’s creation.
“It was clear once this situation began to escalate that something had to be done,” said Santos, in a press release. “Within days of assembling our team, we had our first prototype ventilator ready to go. Besides the lack of medical supplies and equipment, we think there will be a shortage of medical professionals who can operate these devices especially in field hospitals, so we also made it incredibly simple to use. Now we need help getting the word out to the appropriate people.”
According to the company, MAINGEAR will shift the majority of its production space to building the ventilators. While MAINGEAR’s intention is to get the units into New York City, over time, the company plans to sell them overseas, as well. With the whole world currently struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, other countries will need ventilators, as well, and MAINGEAR’s efforts could have a major impact on the pandemic, as a whole. As such, the company is currently looking for fast FDA approval, so it can quickly get the ventilators where they need to be.
As hospitals have struggled to keep up with the demand for ventilators, it’s great to see companies like MAINGEAR stepping up during the world’s time of need. MAINGEAR is not the only company working to get ventilators to the places that need them most, but as more areas are hit by the virus, every effort matters.
