After DRDO, ISRO steps up to help India amid COVID crisis as it develops three types of ventilators and a concentrator

To fight the ongoing second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has stepped up and developed three types of cost-friendly ventilators and an oxygen concentrator. At a time when a shortage of critical medical equipment is resulting in the deaths of Covid-19 patients across the country, ISRO’s invention could be a game-changer.

“Based on designs, features and specifications, we have named them, Prana, VaU and Svasta. All three are user-friendly, fully automated and with touch-screen specifications, meeting all safety standards,” said S Somanath, director Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

According to a Hindustan Times report, while Prana is meant to deliver respiratory gas to the patient by automated compression of an Ambu bag, Svasta is designed to work without electric power, and the VaU is a low-cost ventilator equivalent to commercially available high-end ventilators.

The ventilators developed by ISRO were found to be cost-effective and easy to handle compared to the mini conventional ventilators that are currently priced around ₹5 lakh. The Director further added that the commercial rollout of the ventilators by transferring the technology would happen this month only. The ventilators will be priced around Rs 1 lakh.

Talking about the oxygen concentrator, Somanath added that it could help two patients at a time “It is capable of supplying 10 litres enriched oxygen per minute, adequate for two patients at a time. It enhances the oxygen gas content by selectively separating the nitrogen gas from ambient air through Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) which is commonly used for the production of oxygen from air”

ISRO had started working on the ventilators last year but after the cases plateaued and the curve nearly flattened, the research work slowed down. However, as the cases started increasing, the government asked the premier space organisation to expedite the process.

ISRO rising to the occasion comes after Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has significantly raised the stakes in helping the country overcome the pandemic. As reported by TFI, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) a few days ago granted emergency use approval to a drug developed by DRDO which was being tested in the country for close to a year.

Read More: DRDO’s drug has been approved for emergency use. It could prove to be a gamechanger against the pandemic

A DRDO lab and Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories developed the anti-Covid therapeutic application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) which has been found to fasten recovery among infected individuals and drastically reduce their need for supplemental oxygen.

Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), a laboratory of DRDO has also created an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to help detect Covid-19 from chest X-rays. Before that, the organisation deployed innovative technologies to deal with India’s oxygen crisis and in many cities like Lucknow, Guwahati, and Mumbai helped with the setting up of hospitals.

“We are also in talks with @DRDO_India for setting up a 300-bed hospital with Oxygen facilities at Guwahati. We owe it to the vision of Hon PM Sri @narendramodi for having channelized multi-agency collaboration strategy on #Covid,” tweeted Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam after DRDO agreed to help in setting up Covid hospital.

https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/1390623869573074952

Read More: DRDO has risen to the occasion and its role in Covid fight deserves to be lauded

With two premier research organisations of the country pooling in the resources, the citizens of the country can breathe slightly easy. The war is far from won at this stage, but the efforts need to be lauded.