HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — When officials in Huntington Beach, Calif., became concerned whether enough ventilators would be available to treat the anticipated surge in COVID-19 patients, the city turned to Blue-White Industries, a local manufacturer of chemical metering pumps, flowmeters and water treatment accessories.
City officials asked Blue-White to quickly develop and build temporary ventilators that met multiple specifications and requirements. Without hesitation, Blue-White’s engineering team, led by President and Chief Executive Officer Rob Gledhill, took up the challenge.
“The initial design parameters called for us to automate the manual process of squeezing a manual valve bag (Ambu Bag) in emergency conditions to provide positive pressure ventilation to patients having difficulty breathing,” he added. “This process is meant to be used as a temporary measure, lasting from a few hours to three days, to sustain a patient until a long-term ventilator becomes available.”
“With a strong desire to be of service, and with will and determination, we produced what we believe is an exceptionally high-quality and reliable piece of equipment,” said Gledhill. “We developed the Blue-White Temporary Ventilator using 100 percent in-house parts, raw materials and existing equipment.”
Blue-White’s ventilator is currently in long-term testing and is being submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval. In the meantime, Blue-White’s team is busy developing a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack so the ventilator can be portable.
“We are immensely proud of our engineering team, as well as everyone at Blue-White who encouraged us in our efforts,” Gledhill said.
To learn more about Blue-White Industries, visit https://www.blue-white.com.
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