6. Ventilator innovation
Medtronic has been playing an important role when it comes to providing the ventilators needed to treat some of the toughest COVID-19 cases. The company has gone as far as to share some of its ventilator intellectual property, as well as forging ventilator manufacturing partnerships with non-medtech companies such as Foxconn and Tesla. In a few months, Medtronic’s internal ventilator production increased fivefold from 200 a week to more than 1,000 a week.Martha pointed out that Medtronic also continues to innovate in the space. For example, Medtronic has added remote management capability to its Puritan Bennett 980 ventilator, integrated Nellcor pulse oximetry sensors, and enhanced its Vital Sync remote monitoring to allow caregivers to remotely monitor pulse oximetry and capnography devices through a mobile application.
“Many of these features, they were developed in days and weeks, which in the past might have taken us months and quarters. But because we found new ways, we’re moving faster. We’re partnering with others, whether that’s on technology development or in supply chain relationships. We’re working with our regulators to ensure they have everything they need to streamline their decision-makers, and our own people are stepping up across the company,” Martha said.