In intensive care units across the country, the daily treatment of patients with severe cases of COVID-19 requires healthcare workers to go from bed to bed to closely monitor and adjust the settings of their ventilators—with each instance potentially exposing them to the novel coronavirus while also consuming valuable protective equipment.

To make that a somewhat safer task, Medtronic is currently rolling out free upgrades that will allow each of its ventilators to be controlled from a dedicated device outside of the isolation room.

These adjustments—such as changes in the rate and amount of air pushed by the machine—are designed to slowly wean the patient off the ventilator as they regain the ability to breathe on their own and to avoid overextending the capacity of their lungs.

Read the full article on Fierce Biotech.