Gekko wins order for locally developed ventilator






Ballarat manufacturer Gekko Medical has received an order from the Victorian State Government for 170 of its GeVentor invasive ventilators designed and made in Australia.

The GeVentors are expected to be available within five weeks and will be used in health services across the state.

The order follows permission for the GeVentor to progress into manufacture.

Developed to prototype stage in April by Gekko’s innovation and design team, led by Sandy Gray, the machine is a robust and simple ventilator and considered particularly useful for remote areas and developing countries

Gekko, which normally manufactures mineral processing equipment, collaborated with Ballarat anaesthetist Doug Paxton to develop the GeVentor in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The order follows permission for the GeVentor to progress into manufacture.

Gekko technical director Sandy Gray said: “We are pleased to have developed a ventilator that can help save the lives of COVID-19 patients around the world, particularly in developing countries that don’t have the medical resources they need to cope with the pandemic.

“It is a big success story for Ballarat and regional Victoria, resulting from a collaboration between local medical and manufacturing experts, with the support of the community.”

The Victorian state government supported the development of the ventilator.

Minister for industry support and recovery Martin Pakula said: “Creating a local ventilator industry in a matter of just months is testament to the excellence and agility of Victorian manufacturers.”

Gekko Medical is a start-up launched by the award-winning mining innovation company, Gekko Systems in response to shortages of ventilators in Australian hospitals at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Picture: Gekko Medical/Geventor

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