Coronavirus: India’s research body develops non-invasive ventilators

India's state-owned Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and its constituent lab National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) in Bangalore have developed a non-invasive ventilator to treat Covid-19 patients.

The non-invasive ventilator is a microcontroller-based precise closed-loop adaptive control system with a built-in biocompatible "3D printed manifold and coupler" and a Highly Efficient Particulate Air Filter), which help to alleviate the fear of the virus spread, CSIR Director General Shekhar C Mande said.

He said the system has undergone stringent biomedical tests and beta clinical trials and was certified for safety and performance by National Accreditation Board for Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and its accredited agencies.

The major advantage of the ventilator, according to Mande, is that it is simple to use without any specialised nursing, compact and configured with majority of indigenous components.

"This is ideal for treating Covid-19 patients in wards, makeshift hospitals, dispensaries and home," he said.

Mande said CSIR is in the process of getting the approval of the regulatory authorities soon for the non-invasive ventilator and is already in talks with major public and private industries as a partner for mass production.

Director CSIR Jitendra J Jadhav said the non-invasive ventilator has an externally-connected oxygen concentrator, which will be ideal to treat moderate or mid-stage severe Covid-19 patients who do not require intubation and invasive ventilation.

The ventilator was developed by a team of technocrats and medical practitioners under the leadership of C M Ananda, head of the electronics department, Amarnarayan D, chief medical officer of NAL, Viren Sardana, respiratory physiologist of CSIR, and scientists at NAL, Mande said.