Innovators from Kashmir urge government to help produce their low-cost ventilator

While Covid has wreaked havoc across the world, it has also pushed innovators to come up with new technology. One such case is in Srinagar's Buchpora area, where two engineers Sajid and Jehangir have come up with a low-cost ventilator. 

This ventilator will not only provide oxygen supply to a Covid-positive patient but will also help in monitoring the ECG, temperature and saturation via remote access. 

“If we talk about Covid that started 13-14 months ago, the scarcity of the ventilators was the first thing that got highlighted all across the world. As far as medical research is concerned proper ventilation is the only way to save the covid critical patients. This research striked [sic] our minds and we took an initiative to design a low cost ventilator that will give 10-12 inhalations per minute to patients. It will also keep surveillance of patients by monitoring the ECG and temperature", said Jehangir Ahmad,  the innovator behind the tech.

The main purpose of making this ventilator is making it cost efficient so that everyone can afford it. And now the innovators are asking the government for help in developing these ventilators so that they can reach the market and be sold to the needy. 

''The model for us is a multipurpose ventilator - low cost, economical and portable ventilator. Besides giving air to patients, it can also monitor all the live conditions of the patient whether it is ECG, oxygen saturation, temperature which a doctor can remotely access via a mobile phone from a remote location. We have used an open source app like Blink to visualise all the parameters. When it comes to the market it will be around 10-15,000 in Indian currency. We need support from the government so that this product can come to the market", said Sajid Noor.

Both Sajid and Jehangir were awarded by the National Institute of Technology for the innovation of this ventilator in the ''Covid Open innovation challenge'' held in Srinagar. And now they hope that the government will help in its mass production.