BENGALURU: What could turn out to be a big boost in the fight against Covid-19, Bengaluru-based public sector undertaking Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are jointly manufacturing portable ventilators.They are currently working on prototypes of Single Outlet Automatic Resuscitator System (SOARS), which will soon be tested at NIMHANS and RR Hospital in New Delhi.
D Venkateswarlu, Director, Production, ITI Limited, said they started working on the project after the transfer of technology from the Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL), a DRDO laboratory in Bengaluru, and once the devices are tested, the production will be scaled up.R M Agarwal, Chairman & Managing Director, ITI, said the ventilators are primarily meant for the armed forces, but can also be used by civilian administrations.
Venkateswarlu said SOARS can be used for forced breathing of patients who cannot breathe themselves. It can run on alternate current, direct current or an external battery and the source of breathing is through compressed air or oxygen. The device weighs around 7 kg and can be used in hospitals, ambulances, railway stations or other places. “It is like an emergency aid,” he said.
Some spares, including sensors for the device, have to be imported, mainly from the Netherlands and Singapore. If the device passes the test, ITI needs four to six weeks to scale up production. Meanwhile, ITI on Friday announced that it has signed an MoU with Tech Mahindra to work on 4G & 5G smart networks, Smart Cities and Healthcare services.