Guilford County’s ABCO Automation Manufactures Cutting-Edge Ventilators for COVID-19 Patients 

The Greensboro-based automation company partners with Cone Health to design and produce emergency ventilators 

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in shortages of personal protective equipment and ventilators at hospitals across the U.S. In Greensboro-High Point, industrial automation company ABCO Automation partnered with Guilford County’s Cone Health, whose flagship facility ranks among the best hospitals in the nation by Becker’s Hospital Review, to produce emergency ventilators. Today, Cone Health has access to more than 100 emergency ventilators thanks to this regional collaboration.

In a matter of days, ABCO, working with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), produced a protype of the emergency ventilator. ABCO worked with Cone Health experts to tweak its protype until it developed a version that proved to be reliable for both precision and durability.

ABCO’s ventilator (AB-VENT) is designed to automatically compress an adult AMBU bag, which provides air to the patient. ABCO also added high-tech features such as wireless data transmission capabilities to allow the ventilator to be monitored from a nurses’ station.

ABCO is building 50 ventilators for Cone Health and is prepared to develop 50 more if needed. To share its cutting-edge technology, ABCO is also marketing its AB-VENT ventilators to healthcare systems across the U.S.

In addition to ABCO, regional companies including Volvo North America and Qorvo supported ventilator efforts with Cone Health’s Radiation Oncology Center for Innovation – a testament to Guilford County’s collaborative business community.

Learn more about ABCO Automation’s response to COVID-19 here.

Photo Credit: ABCO Automation/Triad Business Journal