The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar has developed a device that can be used as a substitute for a CPAP machine. It is named ‘Jivan Vayu’ and can deliver high flow oxygen up to 60 liters per minute (LPM).
‘Jivan Vayu’ is India’s first such device that functions without electricity and is adapted to both kinds of oxygen generation units like Oxygen cylinders and pipelines in hospitals.
The traditionally used Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines use mild air pressure to keep airways open and are used for a patient suffering from breathing problems and sleep apnea. The CPAP therapy ensures that the airways do not collapse while you breathe during sleep and also used to treat infants whose lungs have not fully developed.
The new device is designed to maintain the concentration of oxygen in the gas mixture above 40% along with a viral filter. The viral filter is claimed to have an efficacy of 99.99 percent.
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“This was the need of the hour during the present Covid pandemic when the power supply is the key concern for saving lives of those on medical equipment such as ventilators and oxygen concentrators,” said Assistant Professor, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Dr. Khushbo Rakha. She has developed the device at the Advanced Materials and Design Lab of IIT Ropar.
“We felt an urgent need to develop such a device after we saw a high number of Covid patients succumbing due to the lack of oxygen,” added Dr. Rakha.
“The device can deliver the high flow of oxygen (20-60 LPM) and can maintain a continuous positive pressure of up to 20 cm H2O. Jivan Vayu is designed to maintain a FiO2 of above 40 percent with a PPEP (positive end-expiratory pressure of 5-20cm H2O.”