Source: SEATA Spain-based automobile manufacturer is producing medical ventilators amid the global coronavirus pandemic using windshield wiper motors from its assembly line to power the medical devices.

While developing a prototype of its OxyGEN ventilator, with its 80 electronic and mechanical components, automaker SEAT repurposed already available windshield wiper motors, the kind used in some Volkswagen Group cars, to run the ventilators it is producing amid a worldwide shortage of the critical equipment.

Once approved for use by the medical industry, the windshield wiper-powered ventilators will work much the same way that traditional ventilators do: pumping oxygen into the lungs while removing carbon dioxide, and keeping positive pressure within the system to prevent collapse. These devices are particularly critical now as the coronavirus can cause respiratory issues due to lung inflammation.

SEAT is joining other automotive companies including General Motors, Tesla and Ford, that are transforming their shuttered production facilities into manufacturing space for producing the critical medical ventilators.