Medical company Evolving Medical Solutions Inc said on Tuesday that it has developed a life-saving medical process, called Extracorporeal Hybrid Oxygenation (ECHO), for patients with COVID-19.

Located in Lacey, Washington, the company added that ECHO delivers oxygen intravenously to the bloodstream and works with the lungs, giving patients the life-saving oxygen they need to prevent death by severe hypoxia and promote healing. It converts the life-saving functions of the US FDA-approved Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) circuit on to the FDA-approved hemodialysis machine.

According to the company, ECHO can be scaled globally and administered by medical professionals with minimal additional training.

The Associated Press recently reported New York City officials as saying at least 80% of COVID-19 patients who were put on ventilators ultimately died. ECHO is effective because, unlike ventilators, it delivers oxygen directly to the bloodstream, revealed the company.

Upon final US FDA approval, the company said it will begin discussions with companies and hospitals throughout the world. The challenge in this pandemic is that ECMO machines are scarce, hence the idea is to convert hemodialysis machines into ECHO machines.