PGI ventilator may give new lease of life to Covid patients

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 25

In the times of coronavirus outbreak and impending epidemic that awaits our country, the doctors of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Educational Research, Chandigarh, have come up with a prototype of the ventilator that is cost-effective and will breathe life into Covid affected patients in need of critical care.

This low cost automatic “Ambu” bag has been designed for usage of third world countries. The device weighing only 1.5 kgs has been conceptualised by Dr Rajeev Chauhan, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, and designed and manufactured by Eshan Dhar (CTO Gtrodrive) and Akash Gaddamwar.

With the surge of Covid patients, there is potentially a high risk of mortality with respiratory failure in our country. In Chandigarh itself, there are only two ventilators for every 10,000 persons. Ventilators help patients breathe and can be the difference between life and death for the most serious Covid-19 cases.

The automatic mechanical ventilatory device will work on the principle of electric linear actuator which converts the rotary motion into a linear motion.

Dr Chauhan said, “When ventilators are not available, Ambu bags need to be compressed manually by patients’ attendant/caretaker on a regular basis to deliver air or oxygen to the patient’s lungs. There have been instances where attendants pressed ambu bags that led to injury in lungs. This device will automatically pump ambu bag with the help of linear motion.”

He added, “The device can act as a transport ventilator by fitting the ambu bag ambulance. It has battery backup of 6-8 hours. The mechanical ventilator weighs 100 kgs machine and costs around 10-12 lakhs as opposed to new device which will cost between Rs 15-25 thousand.”

Professor Jagat Ram, Director PGIMER said, “The project appears to be excellent step and I congratulate Department of Anesthesia for this.”

Dr Chauhan added, "In the times of crisis, the approval of certification of the device is expected in a short span of time. We are in talks with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding the same. Once the certification and ISO mark is obtained, the device will be ready for large scale production depending on which company approaches for manufacturing."