Brooklyn-based Spiro Devices was founded by Newlab, in partnership with Boyce Technologies and 10x Beta, in March 2020 with the goal of tackling New York City’s oncoming ventilator shortage in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spiro Devices Receives Grant Enabling Ventilator Production
Description
"In March, while New York City was bracing for what they expected to be a catastrophic ventilator shortage due to COVID-19, Newlab, in partnership with 10xBeta and Boyce Technologies, developed a bridge ventilator around an MIT design as a way to respond quickly and reliably to the crisis. FuzeHub was incredibly responsive as supporters with critical funds for the product development sprint. We are grateful for their support and partnership."
Dan Connell
Director of Partnerships for Newlab
The Challenge
Dan Connell, director of partnerships for Newlab, and the Spiro Devices team needed funding to support their goal of designing, prototyping and obtaining FDA emergency use authorization for a new bridge ventilator device in just 30 days.
The Solution
“Spiro Devices applied for a FuzeHub COVID Manufacturing Grant and received $100,000. The funds supported device testing, engineering, design and insurance. Device testing was critical for product development as well as necessary for the regulatory process. Engineering and design team members worked around the clock to identify a solution that would work and was rapidly manufacturable, particularly given supply chain constraints. Insurance was vital as it allowed the company to safely distribute the devices.
The awardee also used $2,500 of additional funding from CCMR to test and integrate new materials in their devices. The Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) is funded by the National Science Foundation. Its primary mission is to perform cutting-edge materials research. The center also provides support to industry through its Industrial Partnerships Program, funded by the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR). This program promotes technology transfer and economic development by offering to industry low-cost, timely and flexible access to world-leading materials experts (Cornell faculty members) and to state-of-the-art instruments, enabling product development as well as expansion to wider markets.”
Outcomes / The Impact
FuzeHub’s support enabled Spiro Devices to complete a one-of-a-kind product sprint that led to a 3,000-device order by the New York City Economic Development Corporation as backup bridge ventilators for the City’s Healthcare System.