Mar 31, 2020

As you might have heard, the COVID-19 pandemic is stretching medical resources to the limit. From personnel to supplies, resources are in short supply and none more so than the worldwide shortage of ventilators. Langara Business Management alumni, Corbin Lowe has made it his mission to find a solution. He and his team at Ocalink (Organization of COVID-19 Assistance) are working hard to create, manufacture, and distribute a million ventilator in the next 30 or so days.

Langara Alumni & Community Engagement had the opportunity to connect with Corbin to discuss his project.

How did you get involved with Ocalink?

Ocalink was started by Adam Morand, Peter Fang, and I. On March 19th, we got tired of reading about the coming ventilator crisis and decided to tackle the problem ourselves. Everyone was going about it all wrong. They were looking at creating really low scale ventilator projects. We knew the solution needed to be bigger - global. The world needs 2 million ventilators, not 5,000 and they are needed now. We knew there wasn't time to build them in the traditional fashion. The problem required out of the box thinking - we came up with Ocalink.

What is your role there?

I'm the CEO.

What are the goals of Ocalink?

Given the extraordinary circumstances with the coronavirus pandemic and the lack of ventilators available globally, the goal of our project is to build and distribute a million functional, medically approved ventilators. Enough ventilators for every patient suffering from the severe symptoms of COVID-19. Ultimately, we want to do our bit to help save as many lives as possible.

What are your personal goals for this project?

The project came together to provide a grassroots solution to a worldwide problem. I'm really invested in seeing how far we can go and grow.

What makes this project different?

It's the collaborative aspect of this project that sets it apart. There are so many companies working together for a greater good in amazing harmony.

Our manufacturing plan is also different. Our device is made from readily available parts and can be assembled quickly with unskilled labour on an assembly line. To reach our goal, we'll need to replicate production at 400 multiple locations with each assembly line producing 100 units per day or 20,000 units total per day across locations. It's totally doable.

How can people get involved?

Help us spread the word about the initiative. We're waiting for government approval at the moment and any support we can get from the general public to help speed our efforts along would be really great.

What’s next for you?

I have no idea, back to running Hoovest and Planted Meals? I'm sure I'll come up with some new ideas to chase.

Any final thoughts?

Two weeks ago I didn't think any of this would have been possible. But I've learned anything is possible if you work hard enough.

Thanks so much to you and your team for all that you're doing. We're so proud of what you're trying to accomplish. Good luck on the project.

Project update as of Aug 27:

Ocalink's Pantheon Emergency Ventilator has received Health Canada certification. Congratulation to Corbin and his team for their amazing acheivement.