Two MBA students at the YORK Schulich School of Business successfully teamed up with J. Strupat Technologies Ltd. (JST)in presenting a Portable Pandemic Ventilator to a panel of experts from the biotech industry. The immediate value of developing a rugged, portable and low cost, life support product, that can be used by anyone with basic medical training, was aided by recent events such as the H1N1 influenza and the earthquake in Haiti.
Above: From left, Janet Lambert (contest judge), MBA students Akyljan Noupbaev and Darryl Baptiste, and scientist John Strupat
"Although these circumstances are very different, any crisis that overwhelms our everyday medical system demands creative solutions", said John Strupat. "The issue falls into the area of Public Health & Security in having equipment and facilities prepared for extreme medical emergencies. We have become even more complacent with the minimal effects that most of us experienced from H1N1, although there were communities like Winnipeg that had many critically ill patients.
Reputable groups like the WHO and CDC predict that we are due for a major pandemic outbreak that could devastate our society. Here in Ontario, we are not prepared and share this status with the rest of the Western world. A made-in-Canada solution should be accepted immediately by a much wider market worldwide! "
JST has expertise in the pragmatic design of electronic medical devices for the Respiratory market with a strong clinical background in the ICU, anesthesia research and biomedical engineering followed by real world business experience in product development, manufacturing and product support for the US and Canadian marketplace.
