On a Facebook post, the CEiiA advanced that Atena was “authorised by Infarmed to be used within the scope of covid-19 treatment”.

“It was with humanity, resilience, passion and dedication that the 4Life community, through CEiiA, developed and produced in 45 days the Atena ventilator and received on 14 July special authorisation from Infarmed to use it during the covid-19 pandemic”.

For the centre, this is “an important step” for the national and international distribution of that invasive medical fan to support the treatment of patients with acute respiratory failure caused by covid-19 in Portugal.

“A historic moment that definitely validates our capacity to develop and produce new critical products”

The ventilator, produced in 45 days by CEiiA, within the scope of 4Life community, joined specialised medical knowledge, companies, universities and financial support from patrons and thousands of Portuguese.

The equipment, that was distinguished among the 349 initiatives in the ‘express’ contest of Caixaimpulse programme from Caixa Foundation, has the support of Clarke Modet for the Industrial and Intelectual Property, announced by the company on 21 May.

The first phase of the project is already completed, with the delivery of 100 units that went through pre-clinical trials, and in the second phase CEiiA expects to produce more 400 units by September.