Dyson founder Sir James Dyson said that demand for their ventilators, which Dyson developed to help treat COVID-19 patients, had been less than first envisaged, and is no longer required. The ventilators have been undergoing clinical tests in recent days and the government had previously said it intended to order 10,000 machines.
However, Sir James told his staff that only a quarter of the available ventilators were currently being used. As a result, the government did not need to acquire as many of them, although tests on the ventilators are still ongoing.
Previously, Dyson said that the Covent can be manufactured quickly and efficiently at volume, and it is designed to address the specific needs of COVID-19 patients. Dyson was also one of many large manufacturers which responded to the call from the UK government to produce much-needed ventilators.
The NHS currently has access to nearly 11,000 ventilators, but at the same time, doctors have found less intrusive treatments can be effective in keeping patients alive. This includes a breathing aid produced by the Mercedes-AMG team.
Dyson has so far spent around GBP 20 million on the project, which was self-funded. And while its design is still undergoing clinical trials, the company insists that those trials have been going well and that the project itself will continue, as Dyson is still hoping other countries are able to make use of them.
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