Prisma Health, Ethicon to Build Ventilator Split Device for Emergency Use

   By Stephen Nakrosis 
 

Prisma Health said Monday it would work with Ethicon Inc., part of the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies, to make and distribute the VESper Ventilator Expansion Splitter.

Ethicon said system is authorized for emergency use during the Covid-19 pandemic and allows a single ventilator to be used for two rescuable patients. The system would be used until individual ventilators are available, Prisma said.

"Due to the predicted dire ventilator shortage, Prisma Health received an Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the device in response to the urgency for more ventilators as a result of the pandemic," the company said.

Ethicon will use 3D printing technology to manufacture the devices and distribute them at no cost to healthcare providers in the U.S. "The initial distribution of the device will be limited to the United States as Prisma Health and Ethicon are developing strategies to navigate various regulatory pathways and fulfill orders world-wide," Prisma said.

--Write to Stephen Nakrosis at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 06, 2020 12:07 ET (16:07 GMT)

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