*PICTURED: Ilias and Bernard from the PFT solutions team. Photo by Paul Corey
VITALOGRAPH is at the global forefront of pulmonary function testing, playing a vital role in helping to diagnose lung conditions for patients across the world.
From its base in Ennis, Vitalograph’s engineering team designs and manufactures the broadest range of respiratory diagnostic solutions in the world which are used to test lung function and help diagnose conditions such as asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and pulmonary fibrosis to name a few.
Headed up by Kilshanny native Enda Kelly, the PFT (Pulmonary Function Testing) lab at Vitalograph is ground zero for the development of game-changing products in this field.
Enda, who began his journey with Vitalograph in 2003 as a Design Engineer, explains, “Traditionally, Vitalograph would have produced spirometry equipment which looks at the air a person breathes out, how fast they breathe out and the volume they breathe out. We can measure certain parameters from that and it’s usually used in first level care with doctors.
“With PFT equipment you’re analysing the gas concentrations in a person’s breath. So, it’s looking at gas transfer in your lungs into your bloodstream. We’ve been developing this kind of product over the last seven to eight years and over the last two years we’ve released a number of those products to the market.”
Among products released to the market include the VitaloLAB™ and more advanced VitaloROV™, an all-in-one desktop PFT system which measures the function of the respiratory system and is used in hospitals. The more substantial VitaloQUB™ is a device which the patient sits into, a dedicated testing apparatus for pulmonary function laboratories wanting to measure whole body plethysmography and airways resistance.
“On top of that we’re developing software to go with each of these solutions,” explains Enda.
Software developer Bernard Kavanagh is a member of the PFT lab team, who says the impact and significance of the work they do at Vitalograph isn’t lost on him.
Having joined the team as a student whilst studying in Galway in 2018, the Laois native explains, “At home, I know plenty of people who have used different types of nebulisers. I know people with COPD. I had the opportunity to go to a COPD clinic in Dublin at the start of the year and actually see patients getting tested, these guys are living really hard lives and for us to have an impact on them, that’s what brings me to this job.
“You could get a job somewhere else but the impact on real people, real lives, that’s what drives me to want to do engineering. It’s not about money, it’s about fulfilment in life. Like Enda said, when we’re able to work on actual solutions and drive things forward, we’re bringing something good to the world.
“We do quite a lot of clinical trials and there has been some drugs successfully brought into the world on the back of some of the work that’s done here at Vitalograph… To see how each level of our work impacts a different demographic in the world, it’s just great. And when you see specialists out in the real world using our equipment, it’s nice to see.”
Vitalograph employs more than 300 people from its Ennis facility in total, and Enda adds that working as an engineer at the Gort Road Industrial Estate location offers unique opportunities to him and his colleagues.
“We were out in a hospital in Phoenix Park in Dublin and got to meet people with COPD, asthma, smokers, old and young. I don’t think it changed how I work but it certainly gave me a bit more purpose, a bit more meaning to say ‘this is who we’re working for’.
“I’ve always been driven and it’s hard not to be in Vitalograph because it’s exciting. You’re given ownership of what you do, you’re not told what to do. When someone says ‘we need this’ they don’t tell you how to do it, as an engineer you’re given the opportunity to work it the way you want it. You can always bring up problems and questions but at the end of the day they want you to take ownership.”
Working as a student in the same laboratory, Ennis native Ilias Zikiss might be best known amongst co-workers as the only Vitalograph member to get a hole in one at footgolf during one of their sports & social outings. Zikiss, an intern mechanical engineer, agrees that working at Vitalograph has been a thoroughly rewarding and educational experience.
He explains, “I’ve always had a lot of interest in [the respiratory] side, when I was younger I actually had very bad asthma and spent the first few months in hospital, so to come back and work in something to do with that was interesting.”
The DCU undergraduate, who plays 5-a-side with colleagues every Thursday, is currently being tasked with designing and developing a machine that simulates human breathing. He adds, “Vitalograph is great for students, we get in student hires all the time.
“There’s a lot of hands-on work, you’re always doing something, you’re never sitting down idle, you’re getting into the depth of things. You’re always designing, always testing, you’re allowed to explore different areas and grow in them.”
Vitalograph’s special commemorative exhibition entitled ‘50 Years of Growing with Ennis’ begins this Saturday at glór Theatre Ennis as the company marks its 50th anniversary operating in Ennis.
For anyone interested in a career with Vitalograph please visit https://vitalograph.com/about/careers.
