IIT Kanpur-Incubated Noccarc Gets ₹3.94 Cr in TDB-DST Funding for Commercialization of Digitally-enabled Advanced Universal ICU Ventilator

Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body established by Government of India, has entered into an agreement with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) , Kanpur incubated startup — Noccarc — which is dedicated to the commercialization of Digitally Enabled Advanced Universal ICU Ventilators.

TBD has pledged support of ₹3.94 Crores out of the total project cost of ₹7.89 Crores to Pune-based Noccarc for its indigenously developed technology innovation.

Incubated at the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) of the IIT-Kanpur, Noccarc has indigenously developed the entire technology, with several patents filed for each component, of the ventilator. The company's entry-level ventilator, V310, played a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic, being deployed in diverse hospitals across India, where it became instrumental in saving lives.

Noccarc V730i

Building on this success, Noccarc is now launching the Noccarc V730i, which is a smart ventilator. V730i allows seamless connectivity to the cloud via GSM, Wi-Fi, and LAN, allowing doctors and intensive care specialists to remotely monitor the patient data on Noccarc’s digital platform, and will also enable hospitals to digitize their ICU data and workflows.

This initiative is aligned with the Government's push towards creating a self-reliant India in the medical devices sector.

Founded in 2017, by IIT Kanpur graduates – Harshit Rathore and Nikhil Kurele, Noccarc (Formerly Nocca Robotics) is a medical device start-up company at the forefront of healthcare innovation. Its smart medical devices are just the beginning of our mission to transform the healthcare industry through technology.

In September 2019, Noccarc had raised INR 12.4 crore from IAN Fund and Indian Angel Network.

Speaking on this occasion, the Founders of Noccarc, Nikhil Kurele, and Harshit Rathore, expressed that the support and assistance from TDB would propel the company in its quest for technological indigenization across India's healthcare sector. They emphasized that Noccarc's endeavours would contribute significantly to the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives of the Government, setting a precedent for innovation and self-reliance in the field of medical technology.

Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, TDB said that, “Noccarc's innovations in advanced medical technology are a testament to India's capabilities in developing advanced solutions that cater to the needs of domestic healthcare facilities. M/s Noccarc focuses on commercializing Digitally Enabled Advanced Universal ICU Ventilators, which are expected to revolutionize the critical care industry. The company's manufacturing site in Pune is a symbol of the realization of digitally-enabled healthcare devices made in India, which have immense potential in export markets too.”

Notably, more than 85% of medical devices in India are imported, the push towards indigenously developed products is thus become more critical. The Government of India, under its "Make in India" initiative and a renewed focus on digitization across all sectors, including healthcare, is driving a robust ecosystem for homegrown Innovations like that of Noccarc. 

Assam Students Design IoT-based Portable Ventilator to Fight COVID-19

In response to the prevailing situation of Covid-19 and subsequent shortages of ventilators, Department of Electrical Engineering, Tezpur University has undertaken an initiative to design a portable ventilator, an essential instrument for patients who are unable to sustain the level of ventilatory necessary to maintain the gas exchange functions.

The initiative was part of a project, awarded as the ‘Best Innovative Engineering Idea’ under the banner of Prof. Aparna Kumar Padmapati Annual Scholarship from Assam Engineering College Class 88 Foundation for year 2020-21, an initiative of alumni of Assam Engineering College who passed out in 1988, popularly known as AEC Class 88 Foundation.

A group of Electrical Engineering students comprising- Mr. Bihung Muchahary, Mr. Aniket Raj, Mr. Manish Kumar and Ms. Ankita Das are working in the project under the guidance of Mr. Chiranjit Adhikary, Ex-Guest Faculty, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Ms. Firdausa Ahmed, Guest Faculty member of Dept. of Electrical Engineering and the project is supervised by Prof. Soumik Roy, Head, Department of Electrical Engineering.

“The purpose of the project is to design a portable mechanical ventilator by automating the operation of 'Ambu Bag' with volume control ventilation which can be used in respiratory failure”, explained Prof. Soumik Roy.

An “Ambu Bag” is a hand-held device commonly used to provide positive pressure ventilation to patients who are not breathing adequately or have severe problem in breathing.

SOURCE - Tezpur University

"Swasthvayu" - India’s Indigenous Ventilator Soon to Start Human Clinical Trials at Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru

The invention of ventilators has saved the lives of numerous patients, suffering from respiratory failure-a medical emergency characterized by low oxygen and high carbon-dioxide levels in the body due to the inability to breathe appropriately as compared to a normal healthy person. 

‘SwasthVayu’ is the first “Made in India” non-invasive ventilator being developed by the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru in scientific and medical knowledge collaboration with Dr Satyanarayana Mysore HOD, Pulmonology Respiratory & Sleep Medicine, Lung Transplant Physician at Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru and Dr Anurag Agarwal, Director of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB).

At the beginning of the pandemic, foreseeing the large outbreak of COVID 19 cases in India, there was a clarion call by the Honorable Prime Minister to all the entrepreneurs and scientists, to innovate and ramp up health care systems, including increasing the number of ventilators. The number of people who would require such ventilators was expected to be high and this was not going to be met with the existing numbers in India, nor would it be met through imports. Hence there was a compelling need for indigenous ventilators to mitigate the acute shortage of ventilators. Apart from COVID patients, these ventilators could also benefit and support patients suffering from other respiratory disorders like complex sleep-disordered breathing such as the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea (CSA) and heart failure (HF).

The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), a constituent of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, swung into action and took the challenge to develop SwasthVayu - an indigenous, non-invasive, portable ventilator with clinical inputs from well-known pulmonologist Dr. Satyanarayana and Dr. Anurag Agarwal. SwasthVayu is equipped with advanced features like Bi-level mode (BiPAP), Continuous Positive Airway Mode (CPAP), Spontaneous modes and 3D printed HEPA-T filter adapter connected directly to the non-ventilated mask. “This is of paramount importance in minimizing the risk of virus spread. The device also has a special provision to connect to the oxygen concentrator externally”, added Dr. Satyanarayana.

Dr. C.M. Ananda, Chief scientist and Head Electronics Division of NAL said that the device has been subjected to trials on artificial lung models and has successfully passed stringent electrical safety, performance, calibration, bio-compatibility tests at National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited laboratory. The device is registered with the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) regulatory authorities. The device is ideal to treat patients with respiratory failure in both COVID and non-COVID situations, either in the ICU or non-intensive medical conditions. Further, this provides an opportunity for scarce ICU beds not to be overburdened and to be used for severely affected patients.

Dr Satyanarayana further added, “Considering the nation’s endeavor of attaining self-reliance, indigenous production of this device, which for long had always been imported, is itself a mile stone.

The Ethics Committee, and the scientific committee at Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru has scrutinized and approved the device for clinical trials under Dr Satyanarayana, Head of Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine as the Principal Investigator. Dr. Satyanarayana further added that “the device will also be a bonanza post-pandemic for treating sleep-disordered breathing including Obstructive Sleep Apnea and other sleep apnea. The clinical trials will begin shortly and for now, the focus will be limited to the successful completion of the trials only.” 

About Manipal Hospitals:

As a pioneer in healthcare, Manipal Hospitals is among the largest hospital network in India serving over 2 million patients annually. Its focus is to develop an affordable tertiary care multispecialty healthcare framework through its entire multispecialty delivery spectrum and further extend it to homecare. With its flagship quaternary care facility located in Bangalore, India, 7 tertiary care, 5 secondary care and 2 primary care clinics spread across India and abroad, today Manipal Hospitals successfully operates and manages 5,900 beds across 15 hospitals. Manipal Hospitals provides comprehensive curative and preventive care for a multitude of patients from across the globe. Manipal Hospitals has one-day care clinic in Lagos, Nigeria.  Manipal Hospitals is first in India to be awarded accreditation by the AAHRPP for ethical standards in clinical research activities. It is also NABL, NABH and ISO certified. Manipal Hospitals is also the most respected hospital company in India and the most patient recommended hospital in India by consumer survey.

To Manufacture NASA's Coronavirus Ventilators, 3 Indian Companies Get Licence

Three Indian companies have got licences from NASA to manufacture its indigenously developed ventilators for critical COVID-19 patients.

The three Indian companies are Alpha Design Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bharat Forge Ltd and Medha Servo Drives Pvt Ltd, the space organisation said in a statement on Friday.

Apart from the Indian firms, 18 other companies, including eight American and three Brazilian, have been selected to manufacture the critical breathing devices.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which is an independent agency for space research, aeronautics and related programmes in the US, developed the ventilator specifically for coronavirus patients at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JLP) in Southern California.

The JPL engineers designed the special ventilator -- called VITAL -- in little over a month and received 'Emergency Use Authorization' from the Food and Drug Administration on April 30.

The VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally) equipment uses one-seventh the parts of a traditional ventilator, relying on parts already available in supply chains, the space organisation said.

This high-pressure ventilator offers a simple, affordable option for treating critical patients while freeing up traditional ventilators for those with the most severe COVID-19 symptoms. Its flexible design means it also can be modified for use in field hospitals, the NASA statement read.

"The VITAL team is very excited to see their technology licenced," said Leon Alkalai, manager of the JPL Office of Strategic Partnerships.

"Our hope is to have this technology reach across the world and provide an additional source of solutions to deal with the on-going COVID-19 crisis," he said.

NASA said VITAL was developed with input from doctors and medical device manufacturers.

A prototype of the JPL device was successfully tested by the Human Simulation Lab in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Mount Sinai on April 23.

VITAL prototype was tested by a team from UCLA. Credits: NASA

A modified design, which uses compressed air and can be deployed by a greater range of hospitals, was recently tested at the UCLA Simulation Center in Los Angeles.

A high-fidelity lung simulator tested almost 20 different ventilator settings, representing a number of scenarios that could be seen in critically ill patients in an intensive care unit, it said.

"VITAL performed well in simulation testing with both precise and reproducible results," said Dr Tisha Wang, clinical chief of the UCLA Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

"In addition, the setup and operation of the ventilator was quick and user-friendly. The UCLA team commends JPL for actively contributing to the COVID-19 response and successfully addressing one of the key medical needs in the sickest group of patients," a media statement said.

The coronavirus, which first emerged in China's Wuhan city, has claimed 1,02,836 lives in the US, with over 1.7 million confirmed cases so far. The global death toll has crossed 3,50,000. PTI LKJ IND AKJ

Indian Startup Plans to Ship COVID-19 Ventilator from May-end

IIT Kanpur-incubated start-up Nocca Robotics has developed an ICU-grade ventilator customised for handling coronavirus patients which will cost less than one-tenth of a high-end imported ventilator, the company's co-founder claimed on Friday.

The company plans to start shipment of the indigenously-developed ventilator from May-end or by the first week of June, IIT Kanpur incubation centre in-charge Amitabha Bandyopadhyaya, who is also co-founder of Nocca Robotics, told PTI.

"IIT Kanpur and Nocca Robotics have signed an agreement with defence public sector company Bharat Dynamics for manufacturing the ventilators on a not-for-profit basis for India initially which is expected to be available for about Rs 1.5 lakh per unit,” Bandyopadhyaya said.

The price of imported ventilators starts from Rs 8 lakh and goes up to as high as Rs 25 lakh a unit, he said.

Earlier in last month, Mahindra & Mahindra claimed to developed a sophisticated ventilator at just Rs 7,500.

Nocca Robotics co-founder Nikhil Kurele said the company has kept safety and security of health workers as a top-most priority while developing a ventilator specially to treat coronavirus patients.

"We found that when a virus-infected patient on a ventilator breathes out, he exhales air filled with virus loads. This exhaled air fills the ICU with coronavirus which is hazardous for health workers. In our ventilator we have made ultraviolet filter chambers, which kill viruses, and placed filters thereafter to free the exhaled air from viruses," Kurele said.

He said that doctors and medical professionals were taken on board to design the ventilator as per Indian requirements and to understand the challenges around coronavirus.

"We analysed 5-6 high-end ventilators that are mostly preferred by big hospitals but did not find filters in them to clear virus load. We found ventilators in use have not been designed to handle virus infection of this scale," Kurele said.

He said that the ventilator can be used both in ICU as well as ported out to handle patients in other locations like trains etc.

"It is portable. The ventilator can work for 4 hours on battery as well," Kurele said.

IIT Kanpur and Nocca Robotics have started testing the ventilators.

"From May 12, the testing will start in two Pune hospitals. These ventilators will also go through UL and TUV testings. This is critical medical equipment. Therefore testing and strong standards are of paramount importance. We expect it to be available either by end of May or first week of June. We expect to reach 10,000 units production by the end of July," Bandyopadhyaya said.

He said that if more demand comes then the production will be raised up to 30,000 units by August.

Nocca Robotics has also onboard Indian medical device makers Avi Healthcare and Polybond for the manufacturing of ventilators.

Besides, IIT Kanpur, an another IIT of Roorkee has also developed a low-cost portable ventilator called 'Prana-Vayu'. The ventilator developed in collaboration with AIIMS, Rishikeshcan be useful to ensure the survival of COVID-19 patients. Named as the closed-loop ventilator is developed, and is equipped with state-of-the-art features.

~ with major inputs from PTI

Kreator 3D Develops An Indigenous Ventilator In Collaboration with SRM IST & Rizel Automotives

Kreator 3D, a Chennai based start-up primarily into manufacturing of 3D printers, has collaborated with SRM Institute of Science and Technology and Rizel Automotive Chennai to design an easy-to-manufacture and cost-effective ventilator in a short span of just 2 weeks. Final assembling and testing has been done and the device is now being submitted for necessary approvals to requisite medical bodies.

The team has decided to make their designs available as an open-source file owing to the prevalent Covid-19 situation in the country, to ensure maximum reach of the product.



In wake of the current pandemic that has struck the globe, the team at Kreator 3D wanted to use their technological know-how, skillset and put it to good use for the society.

After intense brainstorming with doctors, and realizing that ventilator splitters are not the most effective and safe devices, they decided to build a stand-alone cost effective ventilator. Collective knowledge and collaborative efforts with SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), and Rizel Automotive helped finalize the design faster.

“Current online data suggests that only 20% of the Covid 19 patients need a ventilator. However, when the need arises, it becomes imperative to provide it to the patients in time, owing to the criticality of the situation. Current ventilators in the market cost about 10-15 lakhs and it takes a good amount of time and processes to build one. It was this gap that we decided to bridge; thus, built a fully functional ventilator that serves patients in case of emergencies”, says Shubham Dawkhar, Chief Technology Officer, Kreator 3D.

[video width="1280" height="720" mp4="http://indianweb2/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/IMG_2967.mp4"][/video]

Commenting on the collaboration with SRMIST and Rizel Automotive, Anurag Atulya, Chief Executive Officer of Kreator 3D says, “The collaborative efforts of all three entities has helped in creating a product that we think will help in easing at least one battle against Covid-19. Our focus was not just on creating a product, but to build a cost effective and functional machine that reaches people in time. In such a grave crisis, it’s important that there is effective use and transfer of technological knowledge for the betterment of the society. Therefore, in order to reach out to more manufacturers in the country, we decided to make our design public, so a greater number of companies/people can help build and provide these ventilators to hospitals.”

The SRM Innovation and Design Centre oversees the innovation activities in the institute through its Incubation center and provides the FABLAB, a one-stop shop equipped with all necessary equipment and tools to its students.

Dr Shantanu Patil, Head, SRM Innovation and Design Centre(SIIC) and HoD, Translational Medicine, SRM Medical College while commenting on the collaboration says, “We are happy to collaborate with Kreator 3D and Rizel Automotive to get this product to reach its final stages and will extend all possible support and help that’s needed for the product to reach its final goal”.

The team at Kreator 3D are also printing and supplying 3D printed face shields to SRM Hospital, civil servants and workers around the city.

About Kreator 3D:

Kreator 3D is a 3D printer manufacturing start-up based out of Chennai incubated in SRM Institute of Science and Technology. It was founded by Anurag Atulya and Shubham Dawkhar. Their machines are comparable to the global standards in terms of finesse and quality of printing. They will be launching their 3D printers for the Indian market in the coming months.

About Rizel Automotive:

A technology start-up working on solving critical challenges associated of Electric vehicles. They work on the research and development of cost-effective electric motors with performance, Battery Packs & BMS for Electric Vehicles.

Kreator 3D Develops An Indigenous Ventilator In Collaboration with SRM IST & Rizel Automotives

Kreator 3D, a Chennai based start-up primarily into manufacturing of 3D printers, has collaborated with SRM Institute of Science and Technology and Rizel Automotive Chennai to design an easy-to-manufacture and cost-effective ventilator in a short span of just 2 weeks. Final assembling and testing has been done and the device is now being submitted for necessary approvals to requisite medical bodies.

The team has decided to make their designs available as an open-source file owing to the prevalent Covid-19 situation in the country, to ensure maximum reach of the product.



In wake of the current pandemic that has struck the globe, the team at Kreator 3D wanted to use their technological know-how, skillset and put it to good use for the society.

After intense brainstorming with doctors, and realizing that ventilator splitters are not the most effective and safe devices, they decided to build a stand-alone cost effective ventilator. Collective knowledge and collaborative efforts with SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), and Rizel Automotive helped finalize the design faster.

“Current online data suggests that only 20% of the Covid 19 patients need a ventilator. However, when the need arises, it becomes imperative to provide it to the patients in time, owing to the criticality of the situation. Current ventilators in the market cost about 10-15 lakhs and it takes a good amount of time and processes to build one. It was this gap that we decided to bridge; thus, built a fully functional ventilator that serves patients in case of emergencies”, says Shubham Dawkhar, Chief Technology Officer, Kreator 3D.

[video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://www.indianweb2.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/IMG_2967.mp4"][/video]

Commenting on the collaboration with SRMIST and Rizel Automotive, Anurag Atulya, Chief Executive Officer of Kreator 3D says, “The collaborative efforts of all three entities has helped in creating a product that we think will help in easing at least one battle against Covid-19. Our focus was not just on creating a product, but to build a cost effective and functional machine that reaches people in time. In such a grave crisis, it’s important that there is effective use and transfer of technological knowledge for the betterment of the society. Therefore, in order to reach out to more manufacturers in the country, we decided to make our design public, so a greater number of companies/people can help build and provide these ventilators to hospitals.”

The SRM Innovation and Design Centre oversees the innovation activities in the institute through its Incubation center and provides the FABLAB, a one-stop shop equipped with all necessary equipment and tools to its students.

Dr Shantanu Patil, Head, SRM Innovation and Design Centre(SIIC) and HoD, Translational Medicine, SRM Medical College while commenting on the collaboration says, “We are happy to collaborate with Kreator 3D and Rizel Automotive to get this product to reach its final stages and will extend all possible support and help that’s needed for the product to reach its final goal”.

The team at Kreator 3D are also printing and supplying 3D printed face shields to SRM Hospital, civil servants and workers around the city.

About Kreator 3D:

Kreator 3D is a 3D printer manufacturing start-up based out of Chennai incubated in SRM Institute of Science and Technology. It was founded by Anurag Atulya and Shubham Dawkhar. Their machines are comparable to the global standards in terms of finesse and quality of printing. They will be launching their 3D printers for the Indian market in the coming months.

About Rizel Automotive:

A technology start-up working on solving critical challenges associated of Electric vehicles. They work on the research and development of cost-effective electric motors with performance, Battery Packs & BMS for Electric Vehicles.

US Tech Firm to Assist IIT Kanpur incubated NOCCA Robotics for Making Low-Cost Ventilators

Ansys, a global engineering simulation company, entered into an agreement with an IIT-Kanpur led consortium to assist in the development of low-cost ventilators to fight the COVID-19 outbreak in India.

Under the supervision of the consortium, NOCCA Robotics Private Limited, an IIT-K incubated startup, is developing indigenized and low-cost invasive ventilators called Nocca V110, said an IIT-K communique.

When someone has severe difficulty in breathing, they may need assistance from a ventilator which is able to move air in and out of the lungs. Invasive and non-invasive ventilators differ in how the air is delivered to the person.

An invasive ventilator is the most recommended type of ventilator for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) making it more suitable for COVID-19 affected patients for respiratory support. It is suitable for India as it ensures the safety of frontline doctors dealing with the patients.

The machines that can be tested on patients will be out in a few days. Once the prototype is out, the team targets to produce 30,000 units by May 2020, the press release stated.

Engineers at NOCCA Robotics have prototypes of a portable machine ready. They are being tested on artificial lungs, a prosthetic device that provides oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from the blood.

The entire project is being coordinated by Professor Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, professor-in-charge, Startup Innovation & Incubation Center (SIIC), IIT Kanpur.

Ansys, headquartered in the US, is the first company which has joined hands with the consortium and FIRST (Foundation for Innovation and Research in Science Technology), the premier institute's company that oversees incubation activities of IIT Kanpur, to speed up the development of these ventilators.

As part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, Ansys has come forward by offering a dedicated grant to the project that will be utilised for procuring materials, testing, trials and other expenses.

"We are very happy to have Ansys on board with us for the development of this indigenous, low-cost ventilator. With their significant funding and technical support to NOCCA Robotics, we are one step closer to bringing this critical device to our healthcare providers. Our gratitude to Ansys for their generous gesture.” said Abhay Karandikar, director, IIT Kanpur.

Nocca V110 is a modular, power efficient invasive ventilator that operates in a pressure-controlled mode and the IoT (the Internet of Things) enabled design allows multiple ventilators to be controlled via remote control.

It has been designed in a way that it can be manufactured on a large scale at multiple sites using materials easily available with Indian suppliers and manufacturers.

Speaking about the CSR agreement, Rafiq Somani, Area Vice President - India and South Asia Pacific, Ansys, said, “Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that we are all facing today, one thing that is constantly worrying the government and the hospitals is ventilator shortage."

Nocca Robotics and IIT-K have created a consortium of biomedical engineers, doctors, R&D leaders, supply chain and medical technology businesses to harness their expertise and take the design from the idea to the actual product.

Standard Chartered Bank First Entity to Fund Ventilator Prototype by IIT Kanpur

The fund will go towards developing and testing the prototype for quick availability to hospitals treating patients of COVID-19

Standard Chartered Bank has come forward as the first entity to support an indigenized, affordable, portable and invasive ventilator prototype being developed by IIT Kanpur and its incubated company Nocca Robotics along with the Indian Angel Network. Standard Chartered Bank has approved a generous CSR funding that will be used for research and development of the prototype, followed by testing of the device and clinical trials.

"We are extremely grateful to Standard Chartered Bank for enabling our efforts towards fighting this global pandemic through their generous funding. Given the urgency of proper and ample healthcare facilities at this time for patients of COVID-19, this fund will help us in the timely roll-out of the device swiftly and in time," said Professor Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur. He hopes and wishes this gesture by Standard Chartered Bank will motivate other corporates to come forward to assist IIT Kanpur in its research efforts to mitigate the impact of this global pandemic.

Karuna Bhatia, Head of Sustainability, Standard Chartered Bank, said, "As a socially responsible Bank which has been in the country for over 160 years, we decided to contribute in this common fight against COVID-19 and ensure a safe and healthy environment for our citizens and communities."

The ventilator design has been conceptualized by Nocca Robotics in such a way that it can be manufactured on a large scale at multiple sites using materials easily available with Indian suppliers and manufacturers. The ventilator is also capable of working with medical airline and oxygen as well as ambient air and oxygen, thus making it usable in a variety of different conditions.

The ventilator will also be connected to a mobile phone to control the device and monitor critical information. Since it will require very low wattage to run, it can be powered using solar panels.

It is also noteworthy that the ventilator will be priced at a fraction of the cost proposed by competitors across the world developing similar devices. Also, as opposed to the non-invasive ventilators being currently developed, this design will be of the invasive kind, keeping in mind the needs of COVID-19 patients for respiratory support.

Nocca Robotics and IIT Kanpur have created a consortium of bio-medical engineers, doctors, R&D leaders, supply chain and MedTech businesses to harness their expertise and take the design from the idea to the actual product. The entire project is being coordinated by Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering and Professor-in-Charge, Startup Innovation & Incubation Center Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

About IIT Kanpur

IIT Kanpur, an institute of national importance , was set up in 1959 and is currently celebrating its Diamond Jubilee. The Institute's 40,000+ alumni are experts and visionaries in various fields and many of them occupy leading positions all over the globe.

The Institute has a strong focus on research and innovation as is set out in its vision statement "To create, disseminate and translate knowledge in science, engineering and allied disciplines that will best serve the society". The Institute's Startup Innovation & Incubation Center supports startups and encourages the spirit of innovation amongst the students of IIT Kanpur by providing guidance, access to infrastructure facilities and funding.

With over 20 departments and inter-disciplinary programs, IIT Kanpur has a long history of supporting promising research and encourages its faculty and students, to undertake meaningful research and contribute to society.

The faculty members at IIT Kanpur have been recipients of several national and international awards including Padma Shri, Fulkerson Prize, Goedel Prize, Member of US National Academy, Infosys Prize, Humboldt Research Award, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, TWAS Prize, National J.C. Bose Fellowship, Fellowships of National Academy of Sciences (NASc),Indian National Science Academy (INSA), Indian Academy of Science (IASc), Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE),.

For more information, visit https://www.iitk.ac.in

About Standard Chartered, India

Standard Chartered Bank is one of India's largest international bank with 100 branches in 43 cities, and they have been operating In India since 1858. Key business segments include Corporate & Institutional Banking, Commercial & Private Banking as well as Retail Banking. For more information, visit https://www.sc.com/in/

Railways Develops Low-Cost Ventilator 'Jeevan', Seeks ICMR Approval

The Indian Railways has developed a low-cost ventilator, Jeevan, at its Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory that could save thousands of lives at a time the country is grappling with a shortage of the medical equipment in its fight against coronavirus.

The prototype is now awaiting ICMR clearance to go into production, the Railways said.

"It will cost around Rs 10,000 without the compressor. Once we have the ICMR approval, if we have all the materials, we will be able to produce 100 such ventilators a day," Ravinder Gupta, general manager of the RCF and the brain behind Jeevan, told PTI.

"Overall, the cost will still be a fraction of what regular ventilators cost," he said.

A ventilator is a device used to pump air and oxygen into the lungs, and it can be critical for a patient with severe COVID-19 infection which can lead to lung failure.

India might need anywhere between 110,000-220,000 ventilators by May 15 in the worst-case scenario. The number of ventilators today available in the country is a maximum of 57,000 and come with a cost of Rs 5-Rs 15 lakh, according to a Brookings report.

Gupta said the heart of the device is the compressed air container to work the Ambu bag with air without any moving parts like servo motor or piston or link mechanism. It has a microprocessor-based controller and the circuit has been designed by the RCF team.

A valve has been installed to regulate breathing of the patient and the device can be optimized to more compact size. The machine is a silent operator, according to the Railways.

Gupta said the prototype has been made from materials he found in the factory — the portable compressor is made from an air cooling machine, the body from coach components, the argon flow metre is taken from a laser welding machine and the microprocessor from the coach information system.

The 11-member team behind Jeevan needed to source only two parts — a regulator valve and a microprocessor — from vendors in Delhi and Noida. The RCF used emergency transit services to get the two components by road and train during the lockdown.

The machine, Gupta said, provides control on breathing rate, expiratory ratio, and tidal volume - all key parameters for any ventilator and has a microprocessor-based controlling system.

"Today we have made some final tests and now we have a fully functional emergency ventilator which we have manufactured at one-third the cost of ventilators in the market," said the 1984-batch mechanical engineering officer of the Railways.

"Even if we add a few additional indicators, the cost will not rise over Rs 30,000. Also, in this machine, all the aspects can be independently controlled."

According to the Health Ministry, the number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in the country climbed to 3,374 on Sunday while the death toll rose to 79.

Of them, the number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 3,030, it said.

RCF is the premier coach production unit which manufactures the German design Link Hofmann Busch coaches. PTI ASG/CHS/VSD

MG Motors in Talks with 3 Medical Device Cos including GE to Manufacture Ventilators

MG Motor India is in talks with three medical device makers, including GE, to produce ventilators at its Halol facility to help meet demand during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a top company official.

The company, which has also launched a hunt for a low-cost ventilator design through a challenge, is also developing its own ventilator and hopes to be ready with a prototype within a week as part of its three-pronged approach to get into ventilator manufacturing considering the shortage during this health crisis.

"We are talking to medical equipment companies like GE and some other companies, which already have established and approved designs. If they can tell us, then we can start manufacturing based on their design in our plant," MG Motor India President and Managing Director Rajeev Chaba told PTI.

He further said all three companies have responded positively and that can be the fastest solution if there is a design approved by the medical body already and everything is in place.

Besides, he said, "In the last 10 days, our engineering team is busy making a prototype. I'm happy to say that we have already made the drawings and everything. We have talked to the medical experts, our prototype should be ready in the next one week. If that prototype is approved, then our own designed ventilator can be manufactured by MG in India."

However, this approach will take some more time as it needs regulatory approvals, he added.

The company has also announced a Rs 10 lakh grant through its "challenge to youngsters and young engineers that if they want to make a low-cost design, we are going to help them", Chaba said.

On the manufacturing of ventilators, he said MG Motor India will create infrastructure at its Halol facility and would even carve out a separate unit if need be.

"If the car demand is not too much in future then my existing manpower can work on this project. We may have to have some new capex for this kind of a thing, although I don't know exactly how does that look like. But then we will look at putting the right capex into this project to make the ventilators," he said.

On the other hand, Chaba said if the demand for the company's vehicles continues and have waiting period as it is now and "if our people get busy making the cars, I feel we would carve out a separate unit for ventilators."

"If we have to recruit more people, we will do it to have more people into this project because this virus is not going to go away in the next three years or so," he said, stressing that even if vaccines are developed for the coronavirus it is going to take long to make them available at a mass scale.

He further said in India at the moment there is a huge gap between demand and supply for ventilators.

"We don't want to make this as a profit making venture. If we can keep it low cost and operate at breakeven and supply to the community, to the government, it will be a great service," Chaba said. PTI RKL

IIT Roorkee Develops Low-Cost Portable Ventilator to Tackle COVID-19

IIT Roorkee has developed a low-cost portable ventilator that can be useful to ensure the survival of COVID-19 patients. Named as ‘Prana-Vayu,’ the closed-loop ventilator is developed in collaboration with AIIMS, Rishikesh, and is equipped with state-of-the-art features. The ventilator is based on the controlled operation of the prime mover to deliver the required amount of air to the patient. The automated process controls the pressure and flow rates in the inhalation and exhalation lines. Besides, the ventilator has feedback that can control tidal volume and breathe per minute. The ventilator will be useful for a wide degree of congestions in the respiratory tract and is applicable for all age group patients, especially the elderly.

The prototype has been tested successfully for normal and patient-specific breathing conditions. Additionally, it does not require compressed air for functioning and can be especially useful in cases when hospital wards or open areas are converted into ICUs. It is safe and reliable as it is equipped with real-time spirometry and alarms. It can automatically limit high pressure with an alarm system. In case of a failure, the circuit opens to the atmosphere which prevents choking. Some additional features are remote monitoring by health professionals, touch screen control of all operating parameters, moister, and temperature control for inhaled air. The manufacturing cost per ventilator is estimated to be INR 25000.

[caption id="attachment_143741" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Ventilator (Prana-Vayu)[/caption]

Additionally, it does not require compressed air for functioning and can be especially useful in cases when hospital wards or open areas are converted into ICUs. It is safe and reliable as it is equipped with real-time spirometry and alarms. It can automatically limit high pressure with an alarm system. In case of a failure, the circuit opens to the atmosphere with prevent choking. Some additional features are remote monitoring by health professionals, touch screen control of all operating parameters, moister, and temperature control for inhaled air. The manufacturing cost per ventilator is estimated to be INR 25000.

The research team from IIT Roorkee included Prof. Akshay Dvivedi and Prof. Arup Kumar Das with online support from Dr. Debendra Tripathi from AIIMS Rishikesh. They teamed up only a week back by remote communication to develop a quick time technology to help the distressed in the situation of COVID-19. The research development on the ventilator started during the lockdown period necessitating the development of many parts like microprocessor-controlled non-return valves, solenoid valves, one-way valve, etc. using the facilities of Tinkering Laboratory, IIT Roorkee.

“Prana-Vayu has been designed especially for COVID-19 pandemic. It is low-cost, safe, reliable, and can be quickly manufactured. We have successfully achieved the ventilatory requirement on a test lung, and it can be used for both infants and even overweight adults,” said Prof. Akshay Dvivedi, Coordinator, Tinkering Laboratory, IIT Roorkee. “Our commercial product will be of approximate dimensions of 1.5 feet × 1.5 feet for effective portability,” he added.

“Today ‘Prana-Vayu’ was presented to more than 450 industries in a webinar organized by CII. I am happy to share that we have received interest from multiple industries for its mass production. We are committed to augmenting the efforts of the government in tackling the pandemic. This low-cost ventilator will be highly useful for COVID-19 patients, especially when there is a shortage of ventilators.” said Prof. Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee.

About IIT Roorkee (https://www.iitr.ac.in/)

IIT Roorkee is an institute of national importance imparting higher education in engineering, sciences, management, architecture and planning, and humanities and social sciences. Since its establishment in 1847, the Institute has played a vital role in providing technical human resources and know-how to the country. In the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2019, the institute has been ranked 3rd among the IITs, while on the citations criterion, it has been ranked 1st among all the Institutes in India.

Mahindra to Make Ventilators worth ₹10 Lakhs for Just ₹7,500

Mahindra & Mahindra on Thursday said it expects to come up with a sophisticated ventilator at just Rs 7,500, which otherwise costs up to Rs 10 lakh, as it seeks to assist in combating coronavirus pandemic.

The company said it hopes to have a prototype of an automated version of bag valve mask ventilator, commonly known as Ambu bag, in three days for approval. 

"... we are simultaneously working with an indigenous maker of ICU ventilators. These are sophisticated machines costing between (Rs) 5 to 10 lakhs. This device is an interim lifesaver & the team estimates it will cost  below Rs 7,500," Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said in a tweet. 

Earlier, M&M Managing Director Pawan Goenka said the company is also working with two large PSUs along with an existing manufacturer of high spec ventilators to help them simplify design and scale up capacity.

Sharing the company's two-pronged approach in its efforts to prevent shortage of ventilators,  Goenka said,"At one end, we along with two large PSUs are working with an existing manufacturer of high spec ventilators to help them to simplify design and scale up capacity. Our engineering team is right now with them working on it." 

In a series of tweets, he further said," at other end we are working on an automated version of the Bag Valve Mask ventilator (commonly known as Ambu bag). We hope to have a Proto ready in 3 days for approval. Once proven this design will be made available to all for manufacturing." 

On Sunday, Anand Mahindra had said, Mahindra Group will immediately begin work on how its manufacturing facilities can make ventilators.

Goenka said,"We at Mahindra are overwhelmed with pouring in of support from individuals and companies for our effort to make available ventilators." 

Mahindra had also offered the facilities of the group's hospitality arm. PTI RKL

Indian Robotic Engineer Develops 'World’s Cheapest' Pocket Ventilator

Everyone has a right to live, whether rich or poor. Unfortunately, in medicine, sometimes the cost of a procedure, medicine or medical equipment ends up making a distinction between the same, which of course isn't fair. One such important but expensive piece of medical equipment is a portable ventilator.

Seeing that the needy weren't able to afford such an important machine for their survival, a robotic engineer from India set on a mission to develop the world’s smallest and cheapest ventilator. The the 25-year-old inventor Diwakar Vaish was joined by Dr Deepak Agarwal, professor of neuroscience at AIIMs in his mission.

Together, the two brainiacs ended up inventing a ventilator that is almost 450 times smaller than the conventional ventilators currently being using in medicine and can also be moved around much easily than their predecessors. They also managed to bring down the cost from INR 2 lakh-2.5 lakhs to INR 15,000-20,000.

For the uninitiated, a ventilator is a machine designed to move breathable air into and out of the lungs, to provide breathing for a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently.



Not only is the ventilator developed by the duo smaller and cheaper, it is also better than others. The portable ventilator makes uses of an artificial intelligence algorithm in order to adjust air supply to the normal breathing pattern of the patient. In order to provide the loved ones of the patient a complete control, the machine is programmed to be controlled by an Android app.

In order to test the portable ventilator, the inventors successfully used the ventilator for a couple of hours on six fully paralysed patients at AIIMS who have been unable to return home for the want of affordable ventilators.

Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Agarwal explained the physical working of the ventilator. He said," It works by pushing the atmospheric air into the lungs of the patients who cannot breathe on their own. The disposable ventilators currently in use also push in air, but they do it at a fixed frequency that does not necessarily match the patient’s breathing pattern, which may cause low oxygen saturation. This device synchronises ventilator air support with the normal breathing pattern."

Agrawal also shared that though there already is a FDA-approved disposable ventilator that costs between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 in the market, but it has a maximum life of just four weeks. On the contrary, their invention will be a one-time investment and since it runs on room air, and not oxygen, the operational costs are close to zero. This means, no requirement for oxygen cylinders, which cost anywhere between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 a day.

Three years ago, in 2014, we had reported how OneBreath, a medical device company, had invented a portable ventilator which though provides the same performance and functionality of the current market leaders in the technology but is still available at much cheaper rates and is more reliable and easy to use than them. The device developed by them at that time costed a whopping Rs 3 lakh, which was still way cheaper than the regular product in the market at that time which carried a price tag of around Rs 25 lakh. It is safe to say that the ventilator developed by Vaish and Agarwal is much more in budget for the general population of India. As for the performance, we will have to wait till the product debuts in the market.

As soon as the ventilator gets an approval from the drug controller general of India, the portable ventilator will hit the market priced somewhere between INR 15,000-20,000.

Indian Robotic Engineer Develops 'World’s Cheapest' Pocket Ventilator

Everyone has a right to live, whether rich or poor. Unfortunately, in medicine, sometimes the cost of a procedure, medicine or medical equipment ends up making a distinction between the same, which of course isn't fair. One such important but expensive piece of medical equipment is a portable ventilator.

Seeing that the needy weren't able to afford such an important machine for their survival, a robotic engineer from India set on a mission to develop the world’s smallest and cheapest ventilator. The the 25-year-old inventor Diwakar Vaish was joined by Dr Deepak Agarwal, professor of neuroscience at AIIMs in his mission.

Together, the two brainiacs ended up inventing a ventilator that is almost 450 times smaller than the conventional ventilators currently being using in medicine and can also be moved around much easily than their predecessors. They also managed to bring down the cost from INR 2 lakh-2.5 lakhs to INR 15,000-20,000.

For the uninitiated, a ventilator is a machine designed to move breathable air into and out of the lungs, to provide breathing for a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently.



Not only is the ventilator developed by the duo smaller and cheaper, it is also better than others. The portable ventilator makes uses of an artificial intelligence algorithm in order to adjust air supply to the normal breathing pattern of the patient. In order to provide the loved ones of the patient a complete control, the machine is programmed to be controlled by an Android app.

In order to test the portable ventilator, the inventors successfully used the ventilator for a couple of hours on six fully paralysed patients at AIIMS who have been unable to return home for the want of affordable ventilators.

Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Agarwal explained the physical working of the ventilator. He said," It works by pushing the atmospheric air into the lungs of the patients who cannot breathe on their own. The disposable ventilators currently in use also push in air, but they do it at a fixed frequency that does not necessarily match the patient’s breathing pattern, which may cause low oxygen saturation. This device synchronises ventilator air support with the normal breathing pattern."

Agrawal also shared that though there already is a FDA-approved disposable ventilator that costs between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 in the market, but it has a maximum life of just four weeks. On the contrary, their invention will be a one-time investment and since it runs on room air, and not oxygen, the operational costs are close to zero. This means, no requirement for oxygen cylinders, which cost anywhere between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 a day.

Three years ago, in 2014, we had reported how OneBreath, a medical device company, had invented a portable ventilator which though provides the same performance and functionality of the current market leaders in the technology but is still available at much cheaper rates and is more reliable and easy to use than them. The device developed by them at that time costed a whopping Rs 3 lakh, which was still way cheaper than the regular product in the market at that time which carried a price tag of around Rs 25 lakh. It is safe to say that the ventilator developed by Vaish and Agarwal is much more in budget for the general population of India. As for the performance, we will have to wait till the product debuts in the market.

As soon as the ventilator gets an approval from the drug controller general of India, the portable ventilator will hit the market priced somewhere between INR 15,000-20,000.