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We take part in the development of a respirator for patients with COVID-19
In addition to the Public Responsibility Plan we are promoting to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, Endesa collaborates with smaller projects that can also improve the lives of many people, one of which is "Andalucía Respira".
To see Ignacio Día de Tuesta's remarks on the "Andalucía respira" project, access the recorded broadcast on the South Summit website (min 1:06:20 on the Health & Wellbeing track)
The 'Andalucía Respira' respirator is a device specially designed for COVID-19 patients who are critically ill, which is destined to be used in intensive care units that do not have a conventional respirator.
Ignacio Día de Tuesta. A cardiovascular surgeon, pilot and inventor, he will be at South Summit to explain how he promoted this respirator, the only one with authorisation by the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) during the lockdown as an alternative to conventional models and how Endesa participated in the project.
In addition to the financial contribution, Endesa joined the project thanks to the international management capacity of the Market Innovation team to bring the initiative to fruition. Its manager, José Mínguez, says that "when José Miguel Guzman, managing director of the Malaga Biomedical Research Institute, said he would be willing to send this device to other countries, we contacted our colleagues in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Peru, and Argentina, and the response was incredible. Despite this being a sector outside our area of expertise, our colleagues immediately found contacts to enable the project to reach the largest number of people".
The respirator was developed thanks to the teamwork of a group of professionals from different disciplines - the Biomedical Research Institute of Malaga (IBIMA), the Regional and Virgen de la Victoria university hospitals in Malaga, and the University of Malaga (UMA). The sum of all these contributions was 'Andalucía Respira' authorised by the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) as an alternative to conventional respirators with CE marking, which can be used in Spanish hospitals.
All this work has led to the first 480 units being manufactured at the Fujitsu plant in Malaga, 300 of which will be delivered to the Andalusian Health Service, and the remainder to other regions in need. The government of Guatemala has also requested 50 respirators in recent days and countries like Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador have already shown interest.