A team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, have developed a first-of-its-kind Oxygen Rationing Device that supplies only the required volume of oxygen to the patient during inhalation and prevents unnecessary wastage.
Currently, when a patient is given oxygen support, during exhalation, the oxygen in the pipe is pushed out along with carbon dioxide and this leads to wastage of a large volume of oxygen. Moreover, a large amount of oxygen escapes from the openings of the mask during the resting period between inhalation and exhalation as well.
During the peak of the second wave of coronavirus pandemic in April and May this year, India faced a critical shortage of oxygen supply along with other healthcare amenities. The team revealed that this device will help in stopping the unwanted wastage of oxygen. Interestingly, the device can operate either with batteries or electrical power supply.
The device called AMLEX has been developed by Ph.D. students Mohit Kumar, Ravinder Kumar, and Amanpreet Chander, of the Biomedical Engineering Department of IIT-Ropar under the guidance of Dr. Ashish Sahani, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering.
"Made specifically for oxygen cylinders, AMLEX can be easily connected between the oxygen supply line and the mask worn by the patient. It uses a sensor that senses and successfully detects inhalation and exhalation of the user in any environmental condition. This ready-to-use device works with any commercially available oxygen therapy masks having multiple openings for airflow," said Dr. Sahani.
Meanwhile, Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director of IIT, Ropar told the media that the institution has not intended to apply to patent the device. "IIT-Ropar would be happy to transfer this technology free of cost, in the interest of the nation, to those interested to go in for mass production of the device," Ahuja said.