Toronto, Ontario, May 23, 2023 — Ventus Respiratory Technologies, creator of the next generation of particulate respiratory protection for military, police, and first responders, is announcing that it has kicked off multiple international field trials for its TR2 respirator, following the CE certification of the product in February.
Trials and evaluations are underway with elite forces in Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Hungary, and the Netherlands. Initial feedback from end users has been positive, particularly regarding the TR2’s design and form factor, which is lightweight, low-burden, and interoperable with existing communications and protective equipment.
“The TR2 is the only fully certified respirator of its kind, making it the only protection suitable for the global market,” said Arjun Grewal, CEO of Ventus, who previously spent 20 years with the Canadian Armed Forces, including numerous deployments in Afghanistan. “To date, there has been no standard for particulate respiratory protection for those serving on the front lines in known toxic environments, we are now learning about the severe health consequences of that exposure.”
In April, it was announced by U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) that Veterans and their survivors in the United States alone have filed more than 500,000 toxic exposure-related claims under the PACT Act, which was signed into law less than one year ago on August 10, 2022. More than $1 billion in benefits have already been awarded.
“The science is showing us the impact of airborne hazards including lead from high volume weapons training, Agent Orange, burn pits, sand, mechanical fumes, or any of the other dozens of other potential hazards,” added Grewal. “And it’s not only military personnel who are at risk, it is our police, firefighters, and other first responders. We need a baseline standard of protection for these populations. This is why we created the TR2. I believe that this protection will soon become standard issue across the board, just as eye and ear protection have been standard requirements for nearly all soldier and police training for decades.”
Ventus is actively engaging with the soldier and police community. Last week, Ventus participated in events with the Ontario Tactical Advisory Body in Canada, and Special Operations Forces week at U.S. Special Operations Command, and U.S. VA discussions in Washington DC.
Data-driven results from the multiple field trials currently taking place are expected at the end of June.