If Covid-19 positive cases continue to grow, the healthcare infrastructure in the country will require a large number of ventilators to provide life support for seriously ill patients in the next few months.
As ventilators are in short supply, T-Works, an electronic-hardware start-up incubator, has developed a ventilator that would cost ₹65,000-85,000 apiece.
“The cost of (other) ventilators ranges from ₹5 lakh to ₹40 lakh depending on specifications and sophistication,” a top T-Works official said.
T-Works claims its ventilator meets the specifications laid out by doctors treating Covid-19 patients. It requires less than 30 minutes of training for medical professional to operate.
“They also conform to the specifications laid out by the University of Florida, NXP and MIT,” said Sujai Karampuri, Chief Executive Officer of T-Works.
A 20-member team from T-Works, the start-ups incubated there, Qualcomm and Honeywell have worked for 31 days to develop the functional ventilator. The device uses a bag valve mask (BVM), popularly known as an Ambu bag, and tracks vital parameters such as tidal volume, airflow, peak pressure and oxygen concentration.
After watching the demo, Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao reportedly said that the State would consider procuring such ventilators as part of its efforts to contain the virus.
T-Works, which provide costly equipment like 3D printers to hardware start-ups, has received a positive response from Micromax to evaluate the possibility of manufacturing the ventilators.
The incubator is in the process of obtaining feedback from the doctors of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Apollo Hospital, Sunshine Hospital and Prathima Hospital to fine-tune the product.
“The device uses most commonly available mechanical and electronic parts, using micro-controller boards, pressure sensors, valves, and easily fabricated mechanical parts and motors,” Karampuri said.
“Multiple fabrication options with local manufacturers is possible with shorter lead time in procurement and faster and easier assembly,” he said.
While ICUs generally have a high-pressure piped oxygen supply, emergency field hospitals and rural healthcare centres might not be as well equipped. “Keeping this lacuna in mind, the device contains a provision for cylinder-based oxygen supply,” he added.