Himachal doctor invents 'affordable ventilators'

Dr Rajeev Chouhan, a professor of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education college, has invented a new variety of Artificial Manual Breathing Unit, often called Ambu bag which can provide positive pressure ventilation to patients who are not breathing or not breathing adequately.

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh):For the last two months, the country is witnessing a rapid surge in Coronavirus cases in the Country.

A total of 649 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.

With this, a scarcity of Ventilators scares the government as the deadly virus-infected patients need this equipment to breathe smoothly.

Dr Rajeev Chouhan, a professor of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education college, has found a new way to tackle these unexpected situations.

The Professor has invented an Artificial Manual Breathing Unit, often called Ambu bag which can provide positive pressure ventilation to patients who are not breathing or not breathing adequately.

According to the professor, earlier the Ambu bags used in the Ambulance or hospitals need to pressurized by someone. Sometimes, the relatives of the patients are not aware of the intensity of pressure required for the patients and this leads to weakening the power of the machine.

"The device invented by me can work on both electricity and battery. Also, there is a provision to provide accurate pressure needed by the patient, which helps the patient in breathing smoothly", said Dr Chouhan.

Elaborating the features of the Ambu bag, the professor said, "A normal ventilator costs Rs one lakh but the bag invented by me costs only Rs 15,000."

The doctor further maintained that those patients who cannot afford ventilator facilities in hospitals, it can prove beneficial for them.

In the interaction with ETV Bharat, Dr Chouhan said that he had tried to build this machine in the year 2018, but unfortunately failed.

Later, I met two bonafide engineers of Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and was successful in making this device, added Dr Chouhan.

Meanwhile, the professor has sent the device for patent and once it got clearance from the government, the commercial setup of the device will be set up.