Hyderabad: City startup develops low-cost unique ventilator

Hyderabad: A startup Aerobiosys Innovations, incubated at Centre for Healthcare Entrepreneurship (CfHE) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H), has developed a low-cost, portable, emergency-use ventilator.

Called 'Jeevan Lite,' this device offers protection to healthcare providers. It is an Internet of Things-enabled equipment, which means it can also be operated through a mobile phone application. And it is portable, as it is powered by a battery, enabling its deployment in areas without assured power supply.

The minimal viable product with required functionality of an ventilator is fully developed. Pursuant to device certification, Aerobiosys Innovations aims to produce at least 50 to 70 units a day through collaboration with an industrial partner. Speaking of its benefits, Prof BS Murty, the Director of IIT-H, said on Friday, "Senior citizens and elderly patients affected by COVID-19 will need ventilators for emergency life support. Aerobiosys has gone one step ahead by providing personal protection to the healthcare providers through IoT-enabled monitoring."

Jeevan Lite can perform both the invasive and non-invasive ventilation across a comprehensive set of modes and settings. It can be used for pediatric and adult patients and will uninterruptedly work on rechargeable lithium-ion Batteries for five hours without power supply.

Prof Renu John, the Co-Head of Centre for Healthcare Entrepreneurship, and HoD of Biomedical Engineering at IITH, said, "Jeevan Lite solution from Aerobiosys, unlike other low-cost models, is loaded with features including wireless connectivity and remote monitoring that makes it unique and equipped to meet the demands of a pandemic situation like the COVID-19 infection. I strongly urge the industry partners and the government to come up to handhold the start-up towards a large scale-up."

Aerobiosys Innovations plans to provide Jeevan Lite at Rs 1 lakh which is significantly economical compared with existing products in the market.

Aerobiosys co-founders Rajesh Thangavel and Cyril Antony are confident that the design for manufacturing of their device can be delivered by the first week of April 2020. Cyril Antony said that Jeevan Lite has all the essential features to treat COVID-19 infected patients as mentioned by the experts in pulmonology and critical care across India, and the startup is collaborating with Hyderabad-based tertiary care hospitals for clinical validation and device certification.

Rajesh Thangavel added, "We are expecting to serve about 1 lakh people in the first three months. We plan to produce at least 50-70 units of our devices per day."