Softys, a hygiene and personal care products company, will deliver ten mechanical ventilators and two emergency dual mechanical ventilation devices to the Edgardo Rebagliati Martins National Hospital in Lima, one of the most demanded in the Peruvian capital during the Covid-19 emergency.

Lima, September 30, 2020. – According to the commitment of Softys —CMPC’s subsidiary of hygiene and personal care products— of contribute to the mitigation of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company will bring ten mechanical ventilators, Neyün model, and two Emergency Dual Mechanical Ventilation devices, Neyün Split model, to Peru, both developed and manufactured in Chile.

At the moment, Peru surpassed the barrier of 800 thousand infections, placing it in sixth place among the countries in the world with the most confirmed cases, and in third place among the Latin American countries, which is why its need to add more and better tools to combat or mitigate the effects of the pandemic are part of their priorities.

The equipment called Neyün —which means “to breathe” in Mapudungún—were manufactured by the Chilean company DTS and will be financed and donated by Softys. Once they arrive in the country, they will be delivered by Softys Peru to the Edgardo Rebagliati Martins National Hospital in Lima, one of the most demanded by health services in the capital during the health emergency.

This Wednesday, the Peruvian ambassador to Chile, Jaime Pomadera, symbolically received the medical equipment from Softys, which will be sent to the country in the coming days.

The Chilean Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Andrés Couve, pointed out that this is “an important moment to celebrate the alliances, to celebrate the work, which not only has to do with the manufacture of mechanical ventilators but also how the process has been an inspiration to the innovation community; it has been a challenge to provide validation procedures of medical equipment in Chile through an alliance with universities; and therefore an additional step so that we can specify this manufacture of mechanical ventilators as a substantial contribution from the innovation community and now at the Latin American level ”.

The president of CMPC Companies, Luis Felipe Gazitúa, stated that “we believe that companies like ours should get involved to help find solutions to the problems we are experiencing. We believe that a company of the size, presence and history of CMPC, with 100 years in the country, has a duty to take care of issues that we previously viewed as foreign problems. Helping and cooperating in health matters has seemed to us a necessity. Under this contingency, ventilators save lives, and no matter how small the amount of them, we believe that it is the least we can do”.

He added that “we have had a presence in Peru for a quarter of a century, which is why we feel like one more Peruvian company, therefore, we could not stop reaching out to those places where we are and that have received us as locals. We directly employ more than 1,500 people in Peru, and we recognize the disagreements that these two countries have had throughout history, but we have many reasons to do things together and to always look to the future as sister nations ”.

For his part, Jaime Pomareda, the Peruvian ambassador to Chile, an authority that promised all the facilities from the Peruvian government for the donation and entry of the equipment into the country, said that “this is not the first time that Softys supports and helps us. It has already generously sent protection equipment to Peru and has cooperated with hundreds of Peruvians who, in the absence of repatriation flights, have been staying in shelters in Chile ”.

He added that “the pandemic has hurt us a lot, has exposed our shortcomings and needs, but has also provided opportunities for those we appreciate to collaborate with us, and to be able to receive contributions like these, which we deeply appreciate.”

The ventilators were developed in just three months in the neighboring country by “Desarrollo de Tecnología y Sistemas” (DTS) in collaboration with “Empresa Nacional Aeronáutica” (Enaer) and “Maestranzas del Ejército” (Famae).

This initiative arises from the public-private program “Un Respiro para Chile”, launched in early 2020, which facilitated the process of technical validation and scaling up of mechanical ventilation prototypes in Chile, promoted by SOFOFA Hub, Socialab, the Inter-American Development Bank (BID), and supported by the Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Economy.

Description of the equipment

The Neyün mechanical ventilator is an intuitive and easy to use traditional device with the most used ventilation modes. The device is validated for use in intensive care patients with critical respiratory failure. They are made entirely in Chile and do not require imported elements.

Some of its characteristics:

• Touch screen that allows constant monitoring of patient data
• Self-adjusting and color-differentiating graphics
• Ergonomic design and easy-to-read monitor
• Pressure-volume curve to assess alveolar recruitment
• Gas supply connection from hospital pipeline
• Electrical connection to the AC network (220v)
• Emergency power supply with autonomy of more than 1 hour
• Easy to transport, disassemble and install

Moreover, the Neyün Split are devices designed for dual emergency mechanical ventilation, which allows two patients to be, synchronously and with similar ventilation requirements, connected to a mechanical ventilator, monitoring each patient individually.