Hawking, who spent most of his life in a wheelchair and can only speak using a computer speech synthesiser, had some equipment from Britain’s state-run National Health Service.
The family of the renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking has donated his ventilator to help treat hospital patients with novel coronavirus, it said on Wednesday.
Hawking died in 2018 aged 76 after a glittering career dedicated to unlocking the secrets of the universe, despite a life-long battle with a severe form of motor neurone disease.
His daughter, Lucy, said the ventilator he used has been given to the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, eastern England, where he received medical care during his life.
“As a ventilated patient, Royal Papworth was incredibly important to my father and helped him through some very difficult times,” she said.
“We realised that it would be at the forefront of the COVID-19 epidemic and got in touch with some of our old friends there to ask if we could help.
