Two key figures in the current Covid-19 crisis are the number of ventilators and number of people in an ICU beds with the virus. According to government figures, Slovenia currently has 168 of the former and 11 of the latter (see updates here, along with data on cases, hospitalisations, deaths and recoveries).
Since new ventilators will difficult, if not impossible, to buy off-the-shelf needed, about two weeks ago the Association for Electrical Engineering and Electronics at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) and SRIP Factories of the Future started an initiative to develop a Slovenian ventilator, to meet demand, if needed.
The good news is that on Sunday the first prototypes of the new devices were turned on. While not yet ready for use, the work continues to develop models that are safe and reliable for local hospitals. According to a government press release, the work is being done by groups of engineers from several (unnamed) international companies and UKC Ljubljana hospital doctors, coordinated by the Technology Park, the GZS, the Jožef Stefan Institute and the Ljubljana Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
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