State Minister for Information and Communications Technology Junaid Ahmed Palak said ventilators would be made in the country within a few days.
At an online press conference on Monday (March 30), Palak said that Medtronic, an Ireland based world-renowned medical device manufacturing company, will assist Bangladesh in producing ventilators.
He said that Omar Israq, former chairman and chief executive of Medtronic, is a son of Bangladesh. Who is now head of processor company Intel. He has agreed to provide this support for Bangladesh. Medtronic said it will give Bangladesh its patents by next Wednesday. Then the ventilator manufacturing work will begin.
The ventilator is a device that allows patients with respiratory distress to continue breathing in alternative ways. In many cases the lungs do not function properly when infected with coronavirus. As a result, many people are dying due to shortness of breath, added Palak.
He said there is a huge demand for ventilators in the whole world, not just in Bangladesh. But compared to that, there is very little ventilator supply in Bangladesh.
According to concerned, there are only a thousand ventilators in Bangladesh at the moment. And whatever the situation is, there is no chance of importing ventilators at the moment. In that case, if a person suffering from coronavirus starts breathing trouble, there is very little chance to save him.
"We've talked to Medtronic many times about this," said Palak. Last Saturday, I and the people at a2i spoke to them via video conference. A copy of the patent will be available from them by next Wednesday.
Palak said that a2i has ben working to manufacture ventilators for a quite a long time, now their efforts will be easier and faster if we get the assistance of Medtronic.