The Indian Institute of Technology IIT Ropar has developed a device "Jivan Vayu" which can be used as a substitute for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine.
According to a press release, this is the nation's first such device which functions even without electricity and is adapted to both kinds of oxygen generation units like CO2 cylinders and oxygen pipelines in hospitals. These provisions are not available in otherwise existing CPAP machines.
The device is designed to maintain a FiO2 (fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) is the concentration of oxygen in the gas mixture) of above 40 per cent with a PEEP (positive end-expiratory pressure) of 5-20 cm H2O.Additionally, the device houses a viral filter at the air entrainment end with a viral efficacy of 99.99 per cent.
The viral filter ensures that the entrained air does not bring in any pathogens from the environment. The design specifications have been modeled to optimize an accelerated flow of up to 60 LPM (from an oxygen cylinder) and the device has been manufactured using 3D printing.
The device is designed for a 22 millimeter (mm) CPAP closed circuit and can also be customized. The in end of the device needs to be attached to the oxygen supply oxygen cylinder through a nozzle/adapter.
A viral filter is a fitted into the air entrainment window and the out end should be attached to a 22mm CPAP tube which is further attached to the CPAP Mask and PEEP Valve. The flow and Positive pressure can be controlled through the regulator at the cylinder end and PEEP valve respectively. The device has been designed and tested to be leakproof.
During summer, the electricity demand increases, and the distribution system, which is already fragile or not robustly built, gets overloaded, and the power supply is interrupted. Rural India is likely to be the worst affected, with government data showing that nearly 39,000 health sub-centres in rural India were functioning without electricity supply.
The device has been tested mechanically and developed at the 'Advanced Materials and Design Lab' led by Dr. Khushboo Rakha, Assistant Professor, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. The team has collaborated with Mr. Suresh Chand, Faculty Incharge, Rapid Prototyping Lab, Siemens Centre of Excellence at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh for 3D printing of the device.
The device is ready for medical testing and the team is currently seeking industrial collaboration for the commercialization of this life-saving device at the earliest.
( With inputs from ANI )
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