Researchers at Durgapur-based Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) have indigenously developed a ventilator amid rising cases of Covid-19. The new ventilator was unveiled in the presence of Harish Hirani, director, CSIR-CMERI, and Arunangshu Ganguly, chairman and managing director, Health World Hospitals, Durgapur.
“The bellow design, controllers, and embedded electronics of this ventilator have all been customized to ensure price efficacy and meet the requirements of the relevant industries. The ventilator has undergone multiple technical and design changes after adopting critical feedbacks from healthcare professionals of the Health World Hospital and Vivekananda Hospital, Durgapur. This ventilator costs around Rs 80,000-90,000. The ventilator will be further upgraded to meet the requirements of various other patient’s parameters,” said Hirani.
He added, “The efficacy of a ventilator for a patient is also correlated to the effective response of the attending healthcare personnel. Steadily, 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.”
“CSIR-CMERI, in coordination with critical care experts of the Health World Hospitals, has studied and incrementally developed this ventilator”, explained Ganguly. 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 country’s medical care manufacturing landscape, believe scientists at the institution.
“Since different industries can independently develop the individual parts of the ventilator, mass-development of this ventilator will help a broad spectrum of industries. The significantly reduced cost of the ventilators will help the economically marginalized sections of the society and help further fortify the Government-aided healthcare schemes. This will also help in upgrading the tertiary healthcare infrastructure. We are in conversation with several industries for quick commercialization of this newly developed ventilator to ensure availability of these ventilators in makeshift hospitals, basic hospitals, and other healthcare facilities”, said Hirani.
Hirani also appreciated the team’s efforts comprising Anupam Sinha, Sanjay Hansdah, Kalyan Chatterjee, and Avinash Yadav in developing this ventilator.
