New Dyson ventilators no longer required

Dyson began developing a medical ventilator in response to a government appeal for firms to take part in a national effort to increase the number of ventilators, is now no longer required.

Sir James Dyson, founder,  who invested £20 million on the project without asking for public funds, in a note to staff said that demand for ventilators had been less than first envisaged, as only a quarter of those available were currently being used.

The Cabinet Office said that tests on ventilators are still ongoing. Dyson’s ventilator has been undergoing clinical tests in recent days and the government had previously said it intended to order 10, 000 machines.

A ventilator is a machine that helps a person breathe by getting oxygen into the lungs and removing carbon dioxide. A tube connected to a ventilator machine is placed in a person’s mouth, nose or through a small cut in the throat called Tracheostomy.