In the race to bolster medical equipment for coronavirus patients a regional Victorian engineer has built a protype for a portable ventilator while working from home in his backyard shed.

Ballarat engineer and technical director of Gekko systems, Sandy Gray put the prototype together for the life-saving medical machine in less than seven days and says with support, could be saving lives in our hospitals as soon as May.

CEO for the innovation think tank 'Committee for Ballarat' Michael Poulton says he had been having conversations about the world-wide shortage of ventilators.

A Ballarat inventor has built a portable ventilator for COVID-19 patients in less than a week. (Nine)

"I wondered why is it that in the civilized world we can't get more access to medical equipment... and the question I asked myself is why can't we make these locally?

"I turned to Elizabeth and Sandy Lewis-Gray from Gekko systems, to say what's possible here?"

"Within five days Sandy comes back with; well I think I have a working model... what do you think we should do next?"

Sandy Gray has been at the forefront of building machinery for agriculture and manufacturing for decades and in his backyard shed, says he's a little embarrassed he's not in his usual laboratory, but given the circumstances has been working from home.

"When we started.... one of our young electrical controllers, said you know this is just one of our 'jig' controllers- which is what we've already developed in the past.

"So we thought why we don't we just adapt that hydronics, Numatics knowledge and technology to build a ventilator to help people breathe in the case of coronavirus."

Consulting with Ballarat Anaesthetist Doug Paxton and a local 3D printing company the portable ventilator came to life.

After inspecting the finish model Dr Paxton believes it's extremely promising.

"The ventilator has been designed using equipment that is readily available in the commercial/ industrial sector (off the shelf) and given the adaption of its purpose by the design team at Gekko, there is a possibility of having a robust machine which would meet the needs of this pandemic in a practical way.

"It would also be ready to go in a timeframe that would meet our immediate needs."

Mr Gray believes it could be built on a large scale in as little as five weeks.

Getting the supply locally and approved by the therapeutic goods administration quickly is the next challenge. But Mr Gray is hopeful.

"There's no reason we can't keep it here in Ballarat we've got all the capability we need here."

Alongside the committee for Ballarat Gekko industries have put an application in for state government funding.

In a statement a spokesperson for the Victorian state government said that manufacturers, including Gekko, were being investigated "to determine whether they have the capabilities to use their facilities to produce medical equipment and supplies, including ventilators".

Having already secured sponsorship from the private sector just this morning, Sandy Gray and Gekko industries are forging forward.

"We're a long way down the track from where I started a week ago …I know a hell of a lot more about the respiratory system of a human being," he said.