Ecopetrol Group launches 4 technological developments for the care of patients with coronavirus
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Ecopetrol Group launches 4 technological developments for the care of patients with coronavirus
Jan 7, 2021
- The 4 developments were created with Colombian engineering and raw material.
- One of the devices allows an artificial respirator to supply oxygen to two patients. This doubles access to respirators, equipment with high demand in the world due to covid-19.
- Esenttia, a subsidiary of Ecopetrol Group, contributed $430 million for its development.
- The devices will be delivered to medical institutions, public Forces and emergency bodies in Colombia.
Ecopetrol Group, health sector institutions and technology-based companies joined together to deliver 350 thousand personal protection elements and 27 thousand respiratory assistance valves that will serve to strengthen the health sector and prevent the spread of covid-19.
The partnership includes the development, production and distribution of 27,000 devices for artificial respirators, represented in 3,000 splitter units or flow shippers, 18,000 venturi valves and 6,000 unidirectional valves, as well as 350,000 splash masks, which will be delivered to medical institutions in different cities of the country.
For the delivery of these supplies, Esenttia and the Colombian Petroleum Institute, ICP, both the Ecopetrol Group's, and a team of innovative Santander and other regions of the country, developed models and prototypes of the devices and demonstrated their functionality along with health care institutions. Esenttia made an investment of $430 million, including raw material.
This June 5, the ICP began the delivery of the first 50,000 reusable splash guards in Santander hospitals. This piece is a face mask that covers the entire face (”full face"), with a transparent visor that protects the face of medical personnel and law enforcement during contact with patients infected with coronavirus. It is reusable, removable, adjustable to different sizes and can be disinfected by washing process.
The second device is the 2x1 flow splitter or shunt, a piece that connected to an artificial respirator by means of a one-way valve supplies oxygen to two patients at the same time, without allowing contamination between one and the other patient, which doubles the capacity of care in hospitals. In two weeks the production of 3 thousand drifters in Santander factories will begin.
The third innovation corresponds to the venturi valve, which is key in non-invasive ventilation systems for patients infected with COVID-19. This valve comes with a connector and a mask designed for ergonomic fit on the face. Its function is to take an oxygen source and mix it with the ambient air in precise proportions, for the appropriate dosage to the patient, according to their needs.
And the fourth device is a one-way valve, complement of the flow divider valve, which allows the circulation of oxygen in one direction, preventing the patient's exhalation from returning to the respirator.
The four developments were created with Colombian engineering and raw material, which allows to reduce the high costs and import Times of these devices, at times when the demand for these products in the world is high.
In addition to the ICP, The Tecnoparque del SENA node Bucaramanga, Soluciones 2i, Print3d Colombia, Laser-mac, Laserprint, the Foscal Clinic, the University Hospital of Santander (HUS), Multiindustrial, Santander plastics (Pladesan) and Tecnimoldca were linked to this effort, which donated the injection process of the 350 thousand supports of the masks.
More than 40 people, including doctors, engineers, and designers, participated in the identification of needs, design of alternatives, creation of prototypes, the validation of their functionality, development of molds and start production to rapidly provide engineering solutions to the health sector to protect the lives of Colombians.
Ecopetrol Group and the companies participating in this alliance reiterate their message to all citizens to comply with prevention measures and intensify personal care and their families, in order to cope with the spread of the virus.
Bucaramanga, June 5, 2020
