The eight manufacturers selected to produce VITAL stretch from Connecticut to California and from Minnesota to Texas. JPL did not say when the device might be ready for use. 

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Next, JPL is evaluating international manufacturers from countries including Brazil, India, Malaysia and Mexico. Those manufactures will also receive free licensing through Caltech.

“The VITAL team is very excited to see their technology licensed,” said Leon Alkalai, a member of the VITAL leadership team. “Our hope is to have this technology reach across the world and provide an additional source of solutions to deal with the on-going COVID-19 crisis.”

JPL is also testing a modified design which uses compressed air and could be used by a greater range of hospitals. That design has been submitted for a FDA EUA and is currently under review.

Since the pandemic began, several companies have proposed novel ventilator designs. We’ve seen concepts from Dyson, Fitbit, NVIDIA’s chief scientist and Tesla, as well as an adapter by Formlabs. But it has become clear that pivoting to manufacture ventilators is challenging. JPL and Caltech clearly feel these eight companies are up to the task, and with any luck VITAL will be available soon.

“Sherlock enables rapid identification of a single alteration in a DNA or RNA sequence in a single molecule,” said Sherlock Biosciences co-founder David Walt. “That precision, coupled with its capability to be deployed to multiplex over 100 targets or as a simple point-of-care system, will make it a critical addition to the arsenal of rapid diagnostics already being used to detect COVID-19.”

Sherlock says it is working to rapidly scale production and will share plans for kit distribution and availability in the coming weeks. The company is also working on another handheld test, similar to that of a home pregnancy test, to detect COVID-19.

Sherlock’s CRISPR test is one of a growing number of FDA EUAs issued recently to address the coronavirus pandemic. The FDA has given the fast-tracked approval to NASA’s ventilator design and Formlabs’ 3D-printable attachment that turns sleep apnea BiPAP machines into ventilators. We will likely see more EUAs in the coming weeks.