Pune-based company to scale up oxygenator equipment to help COVID-19 patients

“Medical grade oxygen-enriched air is needed in a variety of patient care settings including COVID-19 situations where the global experience is about 14 per cent infections require some kind of respiratory support, but only about 4 per cent need ICU based ventilators. The rest of this population, as well as in many other conditions involving chronic breathing problems, this innovation promises to be of excellent value,” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.

With an urgent requirement of respiratory interventions to treat breathlessness, one of the critical symptoms of COVID-19, the equipment can be used to treat patients who have been released from Intensive Care Units (ICU). The device can also be helpful for patients suffering with chronic breathing problems like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Asthma, Interstitial lung disease (ILD), pre-term babies, snake bite, and so on. The device is likely to be ready, and production to begin within the next three months.

Meanwhile, in another project under the DST, scientists at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), have
designed and developed a highly efficient superabsorbent material for liquid respiratory and other body fluid solidification and disinfection for the safe management of infected respiratory secretions.

The material titled ‘Chitra Acrylosorb Secretion Solidification System’, developed by Dr. Manju S and Dr. Manoj Komath of the department of Biomaterial Science and Technology of the Biomedical Technology wing of SCTIMST, is a highly efficient superabsorbent material for liquid respiratory and other body fluid solidification and disinfection, which allows the safe collection, consolidation and quarantine of the secretion before it is incinerated as bio-medical waste. The gel has an embedded disinfecting material. The collection of secretions of patients with highly contagious diseases such as COVID-19, can put the nursing and cleaning staff in hospitals at high risk.