Ask HN: Won’t emergency ventilator production destroy the ventilator business? - Kaibeezy
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tropo
Perhaps so, but:

The new ventilators might not last. They might be banned due to low quality
after the emergency passes. Some will be damaged by use. Parts might become
unavailable.

New companies may enter the ventilator business. We still have the ventilator
business, even if the companies change.

The demand might remain high. The disease could stick around. This isn't the
first respiratory disease to start spreading right next to a Chinese biohazard
lab, and likely won't be the last.

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Gibbon1
In one news article I read that a hospital was using very old ventilators that
had few bells and whistles. Because despite that they do the job.

I'd assume that ventilators produced in an emergency would be as simple as
possible.

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aurizon
A great deal of innovation will occur by smart minds released from the box and
they will publish many design innovations which will act to bypass the
vertical price controlled and patented etc towers of the old makers. All this
will be released via open source methods anda general constructive frenzy will
occur = more and better as well as cheaper ventilators. This is good, very
good.

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mtmail
It's one of many very sophisticated product lines. The companies will shift
their focus and still innovate. From what I've read largest manufacturer is
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr%C3%A4gerwerk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr%C3%A4gerwerk)

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Kaibeezy
Who’s going to need to buy a ventilator after this is over? There might be a
small market for technical advancements.

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strangattractor
hopefully

