The novel coronavirus pandemic has brought several businesses to a grinding halt. Among many businesses which are trying to cope with the existing environment, a Bengaluru-based entrepreneur has created a prototype of a portable respirator which will be tested at two hospitals in the city starting Wednesday.
Meladath Auto Components has built the Non-Invasive Respiratory Apparatus to aid a person to breathe in an emergency situation, before they can be put on a ventilator. The apparatus uses an Artificial Manual Breathing Unit (AMBU), which is attached to a 12 volt direct current battery.
“It can be connected to a two-wheeler battery and used. In many rural and remote areas, it is not easy to access ventilators. In such emergency situations, this respirator can be used until the patient is able to access one. It is potable and does not depend on electricity,” Rakesh added.
The device also has a manual hand-cranking option, which can be used to pump oxygen. Rakesh says he has applied for a patent for the device. The testing will be conducted at Chinmaya Mission Hospital in Indiranagar and Narayana Hrudayalaya in Bommasandra on Wednesday. “There is an electronic tidal volume selection switch, which can be used to increase or decrease the rate at which the AMBU bag pumps oxygen. Once the device is connected to the battery and switched on, it pumps oxygen automatically,” he said.
The team at Meladath says that they consulted with several doctors and obtained feedback before building the prototype. “We spoke to doctors from Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Narayana Hrudayalaya, CMH Hospital, Aster Hospital and several others. The feedback we got is that India lacks an adequate number of ventilators and manufacturing them at a large scale would take time. Hence, we decided to come up with this temporary solution to be used in case of emergencies,” he added.
In early April, India had 6,704 ventilators, an equipment that’s considered crucial for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. With business coming to a standstill, Bengaluru-based entrepreneurs Rakesh MK, Praveen Balan and Rahul Shyamasukha decided to come up with a prototype for a respirator, a non-invasive device to aid breathing in emergency situations.
“Business halted after the lockdown was announced. We developed a prototype for an electric vehicle, EZEE Hybrid. But that was stalled. We decided to develop a respirator instead of doing nothing,” Rakesh MK told TNM.
Unable to get out of home or meet his colleagues due to the lockdown, Rakesh developed the prototype at home. An automobile engineer with over 13 years experience, Rakesh along with Praveen and Rahul started Meladath Auto Components in 2016. Within a year of starting, they won the Best Start-up Award in 2017 at Elevate 100, a start-up summit organised by the Karnataka government.
“We had the concept of building a respirator by March 22. After Janata Curfew, we could not meet or do much. My father has a carpentry shop. He and I built the first concept prototype with wood in his shop. Later, we started developing the remote support, we used Team View and video calls to develop the design and test it,” Rakesh added.
Rakesh says that the Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone had conducted an event earlier in March, where Medalath was shortlisted after the company submitted its prototype for the respirator. “We got shortlisted and APMZ has promised to accelerate our chances of sending the device for ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) approval,” he said.
After the device is tested and feedback is received from doctors, Rakesh plans to send the prototype for ICMR approval. “We are hoping our work will help the people who need it,” Rakesh said.