Coronavirus: Dyson develops ventilators for NHS

Dyson has announced it will develop a new type of medical ventilator for the NHS, to help with coronavirus.

The firm, headed by British inventor Sir James Dyson, said it had responded to the government's request for help.

Meanwhile, a consortium of more than a dozen companies aims to build ventilators based on two existing designs.

Some industry insiders have suggested that Dyson's approach to create a new model will take too long.

In a statement, Dyson said it had been working with The Technology Partnership, a medical company based in Cambridge, to develop a "meaningful and timely response".

"This is a highly complex project being undertaken in an extremely challenging timeframe," it added.

"We are conducting a fully regulated medical device development, including testing in the laboratory and in humans, and we are scaling up for volume."