Fighting coronavirus with radio astronomy skills

In April, as the COVID-19 pandemic reached South Africa, the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition tasked the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) with managing the national effort required for the local design, development, production and procurement of respiratory ventilators, in anticipation of a winter surge in cases in the country and to ensure a national supply of ventilators rather than depending on international markets.

Credit: SARAO

After a call inviting companies and experts from across the country to participate, four companies were contracted to produce the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) ventilators, all working under the banner of the National Ventilator Project.

“The benefit of CPAP machines is that they provide a nearly continuous flow and mild overpressure of respiratory gas (air/ oxygen mix) via a mask and are therefore non-invasive, meaning patients don’t need to be intubated and heavily sedated,” explains Willem Esterhuyse, Project Manager of the National Ventilator Project.

Credit: SARAO

As prototypes were being developed, distribution plans were put in place with the Department of Health to make sure the ventilators went where they were needed the most and the working prototypes were vetted by SAPHRA, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, to make sure they met stringent health and safety standards.

Production is now progressing well, with nearly half of the envisaged 20,000 units already having been distributed to various public hospitals across the country.

“This is a great example of how skills used to deliver radio telescopes - skills such as project management, systems engineering or indeed all types of engineering - can benefit society in substantial and immediate ways,” added Mr Esterhuyse.