Fourth of July TVP Update

by | Jul 3, 2020 | Newsletter | 0 comments

June sped by in a flash, didn’t it? 
Here we are, coming up on Independence Day and—unfortunately—seeing a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases across the US.
In Boston, where cases are currently dropping, it feels less dangerous now than it did early on. As a nation, however, we’re breaking our recently-set records for the number of recorded COVID-19 cases. NPR released an article today reporting on the recent spike:
“The United States has reached a daily global record for the coronavirus pandemic — reporting more than 55,000 new COVID-19 cases. The daily U.S. tally stood at 55,274 late Thursday, which exceeds the previous single-day record of 54,771 set by Brazil on June 19.”
This only places greater emphasis on what the data told us all along: the pandemic is far from over, and we must continue to be diligent. For everyone going out into the world, including our own onsite volunteers, pay heed to the CDC guidelines. No one is happy losing their summer, but it’s imperative to do everything possible to stop the spread.

PRODUCT UPDATES

Through collaboration between engineering, policy, and product management teams, we’ve seen some huge improvements to the control system.
Many firmware updates have been carried out in conversation with Intertek, and after a round of internal testing, we’re prepared for the second round of external testing. The policy team has finished drafting the user manual for AIRA for testing officials to use.
 
At this point, we have most components of our ventilator approved for manufacturing purposes, and we’re now working on the interactive controls and screen. This past week has seen an intensive focus on finalizing AIRA’s control system for FDA submission.
Want a closer look at TVP’s engineering team?
Check out our latest blog post, “Development Days with TVP’s Engineering Team”!In it we discuss what it takes to engineer a ventilator for the COVID-19 pandemic.

COMPANY UPDATES 

Our silent auction closed this weekend, with over 220 back and forth bids across 29 items. We are extremely grateful to everyone who chipped in to make this event a reality. Together, we raised $5,000!
Your participation is crucial in bringing us closer to our goal. Thank you!
Our livestream on Twitch this past weekend featuring our co-founder Tyler Mantel along with Peter Choi of the Quality and Regulatory Affairs department was a huge success! Keep an eye on our social media for highlights from the event! You can visit our Twitch Channel here for future livestreams.
We’re looking forward to pursuing more opportunities such as this talk to update everyone about what we’re working on and to tell the stories that brought us here. Our recent blog post providing a closer look at the engineering team is a step in that direction.
 
In conjunction with these updates, we’re expanding our website to bring in a larger audience and showcase more aspects of the company. Projects like these always require a lot of technical demands, so if you or anyone you know is an experienced WordPress developer who might want to help, we’d love to hear about it!
They can apply by visiting the job listing on our site HERE, or reach out to the Marketing Team at info@52.5.97.206.

 

In another exciting update, we’re launching another TVP T-Shirt drive with a stylin’ new design! As always, all profits go towards expediting the manufacturing of our ventilator to get it to market as quickly as possible. We want to save as many lives as we can during the COVID-19 crisis.

A side note: as you’ll notice from the comments section on Custom Ink, our t-shirt drive coincides with a fundraising competition among our interns, who have been split into Red Team and Blue Team. If you want to support the underdog, leave a comment rooting for the blue team when you make your purchase. Or honor the leaders by supporting red. Your choice.

On the sales side, some very exciting conversations are moving forward. We’re looking to form partnerships with global distributors who have connections to the CDC and global health procurement, as well as a leading NGO with the connections and capabilities to distribute our ventilator all over the world.
In addition to that, an increased response rate on sales leads means we’re getting ahead in preparing for our ventilator to be shipped to the places where it’s needed most! 
Meanwhile, Program Management has been hard at work making changes to manage communication with our growing remote team—a very necessary step as we continue to bring on experienced volunteers in all departments! We’re staying efficient as we expand, and for a project that needs to move as quickly as ours, this is absolutely crucial. 

The Weekend is Here…

…and we’re nearly two weeks away from our submission to the FDA, a major turning point for our operation! 
 
So much has changed to bring us to where we are today. People have come from around the country eager to help, struggling to obtain housing in Boston and support themselves with full time jobs while working for The Ventilator Project.
With pressures like these to go up against – in the middle of a pandemic no less – it’s a testament to the strength and commitment of the team that they can handle these stressors while continuing to work tirelessly to forward our cause.
In that light, we wish everyone a happy Independence Day, a day celebrating the driving internal force of hope and progress that permeates our mission.
Happy Fourth of July!
We hope you have a wonderful holiday! Celebrate, spend time with loved ones, maybe go for a drink in the Seaport District to watch some fireworks, but above all, stay safe.
We’ll be back next week with another update.
 
 
Until then,
The Ventilator Project 

IN THE PRESS