Mission as a blueprint

In times of disbelief, that’s when beliefs matter most.

As 2019 came to a close and a new decade commenced, COVID-19 had taken hold. By late March, shortages of personal protective equipment, hospital beds, and answers left doctors and nurses working bed to bed, moment to moment. Everywhere around the world, people were frightened and yearned for a return to the ordinary. We knew that innovation alone was not the solution, so we paired it with grit, determination, and urgency.

Several Medtronic employees in front of computers in plant

Supply, demand, and the coronavirus

As hospitals flooded with critically ill patients, it quickly became clear that the global supply of ventilators would not meet the time-sensitive demand. So we responded by increasing production. Our facility in Galway, Ireland, introduced 24/7 operations and, over several months, we increased ventilator manufacturing fivefold. We fortified our supply chain, brought in new partners, and trained new employees. But it wouldn’t be enough. The world needed something more sustainable. As it has in the past, our Mission served as blueprint for engineering the extraordinary.

Using our Mission as a blueprint

Unsure of what lay ahead, we relied on our one constant as a guide — our Mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. As we’ve done time and again, starting with the invention of the world’s first battery-operated pacemaker, we put our purpose into action. We came together — virtually gathering our global leaders, biomedical engineers, and scientists to devise a plan.

How could we best help patients?
By sending ventilators to the places where they were needed the most

How could we support innovation?
By repositioning our invention submission program to focus on virus-fighting technology

How could we expand access to respiratory support for patients?
By partnering with academic institutions and others to create, deploy, and share designs for the Coventor — a simple, low-cost ventilator designed for healthcare workers with limited access to traditional ventilator devices

How could we do it all faster?
By working with the FDA to authorize emergency use of our compact ventilator for use in the United States

Several medical employees standing in front of mobile hospital beds

Building and training to help Milan

Devastated by the coronavirus, Italy was the first European country to impose a national quarantine. In a matter of weeks, hospitals were running out of beds and equipment. A team of Medtronic employees helped build a temporary hospital in Milan, then trained new staff on how to use our ventilators. Within 15 days from the start of construction, the first patients were admitted.

We provide health, and we provide hope. People are depending on us, and we cannot let them down. We must continue to innovate and fulfill our Mission.”

–Geoff Martha, Chairman and CEO, Medtronic

Partnerships with purpose

Though separated by distance, the world came together to fight the coronavirus. We reached out to collaborators and competitors alike to help support hospitals and healthcare workers. We led a team to form the global Ventilator Training Alliance, aimed at training and providing support to those working with this lifesaving technology. Australia-based JigSpace created 3D augmented reality training guides to upskill global manufacturers on our open-sourced ventilator design specs. In Canada, the government backed Baylis Medical’s efforts to ramp up the production of ventilators based on the specifications we publicly shared. And by teaming up with companies such as Vingroup, Walton Group, and Tata Group, we increased access to ventilators in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and India. By working together, we didn’t lose a competitive edge — we gained hope.

On March 30, 2020, we began publicly sharing design specifications for our portable, compact ventilator allowing others around the world to join the fight. This move helped major manufacturers reevaluate their operations to support the effort. In the first few weeks, there were more than 200,000 downloads of the blueprint.

Engineer working on a portable, compact ventilator.

A long journey

Ventilators are not simple machines. Our most complex model consists of more than 1,500 parts sourced from 100 suppliers across 14 countries. As countries began closing borders and restricting imports and exports to limit the spread of the virus, our global supply chain confronted unprecedented challenges. We worked together to help them continue operating and ramp up production of critical components.

Distribution partners ensured medical suppliers and products could continue to reach patients and healthcare professionals in need. And for a time during the summer of 2020, Space Exploration Corporation (backed by founder Elon Musk) manufactured a key component for our most advanced ventilator.

Remotely, together

Before the coronavirus, hospital systems and health insurance companies were slow to adopt telehealth solutions. But in just a few short weeks, it became the new norm. We quickly adapted our home-based remote monitoring platforms — typically used to manage those with chronic conditions — so healthcare professionals could remotely assess, monitor, and triage patients experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. This helped keep at-risk patients safe at home and tempered demand on the healthcare system. At the same time, patients with chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease were quickly transitioned to telehealth visits. Patients could then be monitored through their medical devices from the safety of their homes.

Committed to engineering the extraordinary

Much has happened since March 2020. The initial shock of a global shutdown has given way to global concerns surrounding vaccine availability, fluctuating case numbers, and COVID-19 variants. In some areas of the world, the virus continues to overwhelm health systems, while in other areas hospitals have resumed elective procedures with enhanced safety measures in place. As the world continues to grapple with COVID-19, we will continue to be guided by our Mission, looking for opportunities to deliver the extraordinary. Not someday, but this day.

See more stories

COVID-19