The ventilator which costs 80,000-90,000 is claimed to be effective for patients’ requirements

As experts and scientists have begun to admit that the Covid-19 pandemic is going to stay a longer in the world, India has started overhauling and strengthening its healthcare infrastructure by adopting new technologies to fight the coronavirus, the deadly disease which originated from China.

In this background, researchers at the Durgapur-based Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) have indigenously developed a ventilator, which is claimed to meet relevant requirements of hospitals in the country.

According to Professor Harish Hirani, Director CSIR-CMERI, “This ventilator has been customized to ensure price efficacy as well as meeting the requirements of all relevant industries.”

He added, “It has undergone multiple technical and design changes after adopting critical feedback from healthcare professionals of the Health World Hospital and Vivekananda Hospital, Durgapur.”

Costing around Rs 80,000-90,000, the efficacy of a ventilator for a patient is also correlated to the effective response of the attending healthcare personnel.

“The approach of this institute will be to harness artificial intelligence capabilities to automate the functioning of mechanical ventilators, so that the ventilators automatically respond to the fluctuating variables of a patient”, Professor Hirani added.

CSIR-CMERI, along with healthcare professionals, can revolutionize the ventilator development capability of the country. This will help in massive substitution of import dollars by strengthening the medical care manufacturing landscape of the country, believe scientists at the institution.

“Since the individual parts of the ventilator can be independently developed by different industries, mass-development of this ventilator will help a broad spectrum of industries. The significantly reduced cost of the ventilators will help the economically marginalised sections of the society the most as well as help further fortify the government-aided healthcare schemes,” the Director CSIR-CMERI maintained.

He also said that the institute is in contact with several industries for quick commercialisation of this newly developed ventilator to ensure availability of these ventilators in makeshift hospitals, basic hospitals, and other healthcare facilities.