A former member of the parliament from Telangana and entrepreneur Konda Vishweshwar Reddy has announced the development of a new ventilator, which is cost effective and can be manufactured rapidly, with plans to launch it in India and other countries in three to four weeks.
Reddy, managing director of Stephan Design and Egineering Ltd and AVV Turbines Ltd, said that the ICo-Vent, the new product, priced at between Rs 40,000 to Rs 1,40,000 depending upon the model, does not have costly parts which are used in the products being sold in the market at present.
The UK, Canada and other governments have come out with a set of specifications prescribing the minimum clinically accepted criteria for a rapidly manufactureable ventilator to address the Covid-19 situatioin and the Indian government is also in the process of coming out with a similar set of specifications. The ICo-Vent, the new ventilator developed by Reddy, meets these specifications. A patent for the technology and functions has already been applied for, said Reddy.
An empowered committee of the government is looking into the approval of the product. Currently, Reddy's company has the capacity to manufacture around 300 units a month, but it will look at tie up with other manufacturers to scale up production, he added.