India's Electronic and Information Technology Ministry has developed a ventilator which offers assist-control at a much lower cost, within $50 (Approx. INR 4,000).
Assist Control is used to describe the number of breaths a patient is receiving from the breathing machine (ventilator).
According to the ministry, the portable device can make treatment much more accessible for everyone.
"Low-cost, and portable ventilator for mass casualty cases to make sure that even rural areas across the world can access healthcare. The cost of a ventilator can be reduced by utilising the turbine, a small set of electro-mechanical subsystems accompanied by a battery (12V) for portability,” the ministry said.
The system consists of a ubiquitous at Mega 328 microcontroller optimised lot, which is basically an application which regulates the airflow mechanism, collects the data from pressure sensor, and uploads it to the cloud.
It has an estimated cost of $40-50 (INR 3000- 4000), while the commercial equipment currently being used are priced at $2,000 (INR 150,000).
Speaking to Sputnik, Prashant Batra, a Delhi-based intensive care specialist and a critical care physician, stated these might be for temporary use to tackle the critical patients, given the rapidly increasing number of patients.
“These might not function like the full-fledged ventilators but would serve the purpose and might help people suffering from the virus,” Batra said.
The Government of India has said they require over 75,000 ventilators to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
Earlier this month, P.D. Vaghela, Chairman of Empowered Group-3 responsible with ensuring the availability of essential medical supplies has stated that there were 19,393 ventilators available across the country and 60,000 more have been ordered.