Resources for healthcare professionals

It is important to note that the V60 / V60 Plus ventilator is designed with three layers of filters: the air inlet filter, the main flow bacteria filter, and a filter on the patient circuit exhalation port. It is suggested that customers follow the instructions in the V60 / V60 Plus ventilator User Manual to filter air for delivery to the patient with the air inlet filter, to always use a main flow bacteria filter on the patient gas outlet port, and recommending use of a filter on the patient circuit exhalation port.

V60 has proven performance in both invasive and noninvasive ventilation.  The Philips Respironics V60 Ventilator is a microprocessor-controlled, bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) ventilatory assist system that provides noninvasive positive pressure ventilation and invasive ventilatory support for spontaneously breathing adult and pediatric patients.

Although it will effectively filter (> 99.99% efficiency) the exhaled gas passing through the exhalation port, most patient interfaces will leak some amount of gas due to an unintended leak where the cushion is in contact with the skin.

The frequency and timing of filter replacement will vary by patient and usage. It is recommended to change the filter between patients and at regular intervals (or as stated by the manufacturer).

Please read complete Instructions for Use, which state: Do not use bleach, alcohol, cleaning solutions containing bleach or alcohol, or cleaning solutions containing conditioners or moisturizers.

Like other medical devices, Philips cooling systems and system filters are designed to ensure proper functioning of the machines in a variety of hospital and clinical environments. The cooling system filters are designed to prevent dust and particle build-up in our systems, but have not been designed for pathogen filtering. Most system filters on Philips ultrasound products are user-removable and can be cleaned and disinfected. We defer to the official CDC guidance on the transport classification and mechanisms for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

There are preference variations. For small patients, linear arrays may be best, but curved abdominal works well. Curved arrays are the most appropriate for lung overall; however, cardiac transducers work well and can scan both lung and heart.

Philips is working around the clock to ramp up production of hospital ventilators and other critical care products to help diagnose and treat patients with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As initially communicated in March, we are doubling our production of hospital ventilators in May and will achieve a four-fold increase by the third quarter of 2020.

 

Our efforts to increase production have included:

• Hiring additional manufacturing employees and shifting current employees to support increased demand immediately;
• Adding manufacturing lines and increasing the number of shifts to 24/7 shifts;
• Working closely with Philips’ suppliers to secure materials supply to feed the increased production at our manufacturing sites;
• Leveraging Philips’ innovation capabilities to re-purpose adjacent product ranges to address the increased demand;
• Engaging with third party contract manufacturers Jabil and Flex

 

Our latest statements can be found on the Philips News Center.

Our most needed products right now include our patient vital-signs monitors and portable ventilators and medical consumables for non-invasive and invasive ventilation to treat a broad range of respiratory conditions.

 

Philips products and solutions to manage COVID-19 include:

• Critical care point-solutions to treat respiratory disease. These include patient monitoring solutions to monitor a patient’s vital signs and detect subtle changes, and ventilators and medical consumables for invasive, non-invasive and mixed-mode ventilation to treat a broad range of respiratory conditions.
• Diagnostic imaging systems and services, including CT, mobile diagnostic X-ray, and ultrasound to help diagnose respiratory conditions.
• Hospital telehealth solutions to centrally monitor and manage patients in the intensive care unit (Philips eICU program), and telehealth solutions to connect caregivers and patients at home.

 

You can learn more about our solutions to manage COVID-19 here.

Philips is actively engaging with hospitals, the medical technology industry, governments, the World Health Organization and other health authorities to safeguard and facilitate the production and shipment of life-saving medical equipment and healthcare services to address the critical care demands of COVID-19. If you are not a current customer or if you're a governemental representative, you can contact us here.

Philips invasive and noninvasive ventilators are not available for sale to individuals, and can only be sold to hospitals, home medical equipment providers (DME companies), long term care facilities, medical transport, and government organizations.

Philips offers a broad portfolio of respiratory and oxygen products that are available through a physician’s prescription. You can view our portfolio of sleep and respiratory products here.

Please continue to work with your account executive or local sales representatives.  If you need to speak with someone in Philips’ leadership, your account executive or local sales representative can help facilitate those discussions. If you’re not a current customer please contact us here.

For additional training on using Philips equipment, we’ve developed tutorial videos that can be accessed via our Philips COVID-19 response website.

 

For technical support and product servicing, we strongly recommend that only trained service personnel who have knowledge and experience with our ventilators, and who have read and comply with the instructions in the service manual, should service Philips ventilators.

Customers can continue to order parts directly from their Philips account executive or technical support contact. Third party service providers can continue to order parts through distributors.

Philips maintains a Business Continuity Management System, which is aligned to, and certified against, the international standard for Business Continuity ISO 22301:2012. We are constantly reviewing precautionary measures based on WHO and national authority guidelines.

 

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Philips has been able to continue its business operations around the world. As expected, we are seeing decreased demand for our consumer product portfolio in the most affected regions, and increased demand for our professional healthcare portfolio.

 

Philips has a balanced manufacturing footprint across the globe, with manufacturing sites in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, including several in China. In line with our business continuity system, we have implemented the relevant safety protocols in all our worldwide sites.

The Philips Foundation has efforts underway globally to combat the COVID-19 outbreak in China, Kenya, Italy and beyond. The Philips Foundation is the central platform for Philips’ corporate social responsibility activities, founded on the belief that through innovation and collaboration we can solve some of the world’s toughest challenges and make an impact where it really matters. Updates appear regularly on the Philips News Center.