In an attempt to make sense of COVID and find ways to combat it, an Indian-American couple has developed a low-cost emergency ventilator which is expected to hit production soon. The initiative is the brainchild of Devesh Ranjan, a Georgia Tech professor, and his wife Kumuda Ranjan, a physician in Atlanta. The couple developed this portable ventilator in just three weeks, reported the news agency PTI.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a shortage of ventilators. Recognising this need was the first step for the couple. The second was to keep it affordable.
The ventilator will be available in India and other developing countries to aid doctors in their fights against the virus.
Devesh Ranjan told PTI that if manufactured on a large scale, the ventilator can be produced at an item cost of USD 100. He also added that a ventilator of this type generally costs USD 10,000, in the USA.
The ventilator has been developed so as to tackle the acute respiratory distress syndrome that often emerges as a complication for COVID-19 patients.
The ventilator uses electronic sensors and computer control to oversee and manage different elements like respiration rate, pressure on the lungs etc.
Dr Kumuda Ranjan also explained to PTI that the “whole goal of this project was to make a low-cost makeshift ventilator that gives those controls to the physician.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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