News Analysis India

Tag: oxygen concentrator

  • Pune firm develops DIY design for oxygen concentrator to help coronavirus patients

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Amid a surge in the demand for supplemental oxygen during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, a Pune-based engineering firm has developed a do-it-yourself (DIY) design for an oxygen concentrator by tweaking open-source resources to Indian conditions.

    Oxygen concentrators hired or purchased for home installation by coronavirus patients’ families at present are mostly made by foreign companies.

    The government has a duty waiver on these machines given their importance in saving lives.

    Karan Tarade, director of Anashwar Technologies, said oxygen concentrators, invented in the 1970s, aid in a patient’s breathing by concentrating ambient oxygen available in the air.

    “We began by meeting doctors and medical equipment experts. Our company engineers found an open-source design called ‘Oxykit’ on the internet whose output oxygen levels were good, but trials showed us that the design was not suitable for Indian atmospheric conditions and high humidity,” Tarade said.

    “We have made some necessary changes in the design like the use of silica gel for moisture separation and parallel compressors design to come up with an indigenous oxygen concentrator,” he said, speaking of the new design.

    The company has also made an oxygen analyser, an important device which is very expensive and mostly out of reach of many, he said.

    The design was developed using YouTube videos and a Github repository, he added.

    “This whole project was developed in India, by Indians for Indians… we are trying hard to make the design simple and as cheap as possible so that anyone with basic knowledge of tools would be able to do it,” he said.

    The company has developed a design for a ‘do it yourself’ 15 litres per minute (LPM) oxygen concentrator, and is also working on a 20 LPM model which will deliver over 90 percent purity, he said, adding that the new machine will be a smart oxygen analyser which senses the oxygen levels in a patient and controls the oxygen flow and purity in real-time.

    “Every human being is facing problems due to the pandemic, so we felt that instead of keeping this technology to ourselves, let us make it open for everyone,” Tarade said.

    Tarade, a mechanical engineer, had won the first prize in the ‘Smart India Hackathon’ promoted by the Niti Ayyog in 2018, for his ultra-portable water disinfectant system project and will be working on presenting a paper on the design and implementation of the oxygen concentrator.

  • Oxygen concentrators received as foreign aid promptly cleared: Govt

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Centre on Thursday clarified that no oxygen concentrator received as aid from other countries is lying with the customs authorities at any port of import and insisted that consignments from abroad are being cleared swiftly.

    So far, 3,000 oxygen concentrators have been received as global aid to support the central government’s efforts and that of the states in their collective fight against the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, said the Union health ministry in a statement. 

    China has sent 1,000 oxygen concentrators, Ireland 700, the UK 669 in four consignments, Mauritius 200, Uzbekistan 151, Taiwan 150, Romania 80, Thailand 30, and Russia 20, the ministry said.  It added that some news reports have claimed that oxygen concentrators are lying at customs warehouses awaiting clearance. “The news is totally incorrect, not based on facts and without any basis.

    The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has clarified that there is no such pendency with Indian Customs. The Indian Customs is swiftly clearing all consignments and no such figure of pendency exists across any port of import,” the government maintained.

    The Indian Customs is sensitive to the need for availability of Covid-related imports including oxygen and oxygen-related equipment and is working round-the-clock to fast track and clear the goods on arrival expeditiously within hours, the statement said and added that the goods are given high priority for clearance by the customs systems. 

    Only this week, the issue of 3,000 oxygen concentrators lying with the customs authorities came up in the Delhi High Court and the government counsel clarified that no such consignment is pending.

  • COVID-19: 318 Oxygen Concentrators arrive at Delhi airport from US

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: 318 Oxygen Concentrators on Monday arrived at Delhi airport from the United States as India receives global support to fight the unprecedented health crisis of COVID-19.

    Union Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, in a tweet, said, “All efforts to strengthen India’s fight against the pandemic are on. 318 Philips Oxygen Concentrators on @airindiainflight from JFK Airport land at @DelhiAirport. Let there be no doubt. We will turn the tide.”

    India also received the aid of 500 BiPAPs, 250 oxygen concentrators and other medical supplies from Singapore, which landed in Mumbai last night on an Air India flight.

    Earlier on Sunday, the United States agreed to send essential raw materials to India required for manufacturing vaccines.

    US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan dialed up his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and offered to send resources and supplies to the Serum Institute of India (SII) to increase production of the vaccine against COVID-19.

    India has been reeling under the deadly second wave of COVID-19. The country reported 3.52 lakh fresh coronavirus cases and 2812 related deaths in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike registered since the onset of the pandemic. 

  • Global support pours in for India’s COVID fight as UK to send ventilators, oxygen concentrators

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: As India battles a severe second wave of coronavirus pandemic, the UK on Sunday announced sending life-saving medical equipment including ventilators and oxygen concentrator devices to the country.

    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said vital medical equipment, including hundreds of oxygen concentrators and ventilators, is now on its way from the UK to India to support efforts to prevent “tragic loss” of life from the “terrible virus”.

    The UK high commission here said the support follows a request from India and Prime Minister Johnson’s pledge for the UK to do all it can to help the country.

    “We stand side by side with India as a friend and partner during what is a deeply concerning time in the fight against COVID-19,” Johnson was quoted in a statement released by the high commission.

    “We will continue to work closely with the Indian government during this difficult time and I’m determined to make sure that the UK does everything it can to support the international community in the global fight against the pandemic,” he said.

    The high commission said more than 600 pieces of vital medical equipment are being sent to India to support the country in its fight against COVID-19.

    It said the ventilators and oxygen concentrator devices are due to leave the UK on Sunday and the first shipment is expected to arrive in Delhi early on Tuesday with further consignments reaching later this week.

    “In total, nine airline container loads of supplies, including 495 oxygen concentrators, 120 non-invasive ventilators and 20 manual ventilators, will be sent to the country this week,” it said.

    It said the equipment will be crucial in helping to save the lives of the most vulnerable in India.

    “The oxygen concentrators, for example, can extract oxygen from the air in the atmosphere so that it can be provided to patients, taking the strain off hospital oxygen systems and allowing oxygen to be provided in situations where hospital oxygen supplies have run out,” it said.

    The high commission said the assistance package, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, includes ventilators and oxygen concentrators from surplus stocks.

    “The UK is working closely with the government of India to identify further assistance it can provide in the coming days,” it said.

    Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK is supporting India with vital medical equipment at a difficult time for the country.

    “We have all got to work together to tackle COVID-19. India is a very important partner to us, so we’re providing oxygen concentrators and ventilators to help save the lives of the most vulnerable,” he said.

    “We will be following up on this first delivery with further support, based on our ongoing discussions with the Indian Government,” he added.

    Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has said: “The heart-breaking scenes in India show once again how awful this terrible disease is.”

    “We are determined to support the people of India through this very difficult time, and I am hugely grateful to those who have worked hard to make this initial delivery happen,” he added.

    Hancock said the UK stands ready to do more.

    “The global pandemic has challenged health systems all across the world and the best way to overcome adversity is to unite and defeat this dreadful disease together,” he said.

    India is struggling with a second wave of coronavirus infection and hospitals in several states are reeling under shortage of medical oxygen and beds in view of rising COVID-19 cases.

    The country recorded over three lakh-plus coronavirus cases for the fourth straight day.

    Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday said her government is “urgently” preparing a “mission of support” for India as it battles a massive spike in coronavirus cases that has triggered a severe shortage of medical oxygen in several states.

    In a message, Merkel said Germany stands in solidarity with India in the “common fight” against the pandemic.

    “To the people of India I want to express my sympathy on the terrible suffering that COVID-19 has again brought over your communities,” Merkel said.

    “The fight against the pandemic is our common fight. Germany stands in solidarity with India and is urgently preparing a mission of support,” added.

    Her message was shared on Twitter by German Ambassador to India Walter J Lindner.

    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani too expressed solidarity with India as it reels under the second wave of the pandemic.

    “Our hearts go out to the Indian people & government as they fight the horrendous outbreak of COVID. On behalf of the Afghan people & government, we send our condolences to the families who lost their loved ones & wish a quick recovery to those who are suffering from the virus,” Ghani tweeted.

    Afghan foreign minister Mohammed Haneef Atmar said India has the prayers and support of all those nations that it has assisted generously with COVID-19 vaccines.

    “Our hearts & prayers go to all the great people of India at this time of national struggle against Covid-19. India has the prayers and support of all those nations that it has assisted generously with COVID vaccines.”

    “India will come out of it even stronger,” he said.

    On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed solidarity with India and offered his country’s support to it.

    “I want to send a message of solidarity to the Indian people, facing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. France is with you in this struggle, which spares no one. We stand ready to provide our support,” Macron said.

    India is struggling with the second wave of coronavirus infection and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds in view of rising COVID-19 cases.

    The country recorded over three lakh-plus coronavirus cases for the fourth straight day.

  • IISER Bhopal team develops affordable oxygen concentrator to meet demand during virus surge

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Bhopal have developed an affordable oxygen concentrator to meet high demand of medical oxygen amid a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

    The device, which is estimated to cost less than Rs 20,000, can provide 93-95 per cent pure oxygen with a flow rate of up to 3 litre/minute, they said.

    According to the team, the device, which costs around Rs 60,000-70,000 at present, has been developed as a solution to tackle the oxygen shortage amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “The device, called ‘Oxycon’, has been developed using the open-source technology and material. Once approved, it can be used anywhere from small villages to big cities due to its affordability,” said Siva Umapathy, Director, IISER Bhopal.

    “Unlike the first wave of COVID-19, the second wave has hit the surface very hard.

    The spread has been recorded significantly high and many of the affected need emergency oxygen support.

    Hence, hospitals all across the nation are in need of oxygen cylinders or concentrators and the demand has spiked in a very short time,” Umapathy added.

    The researchers said that the developed device is portable, customizable and easy to deploy.

    “It has a compressor that takes ambient air and passes it through columns having material named zeolite under an optimized pressure.

    Two such columns are used in alternate cycles and electronically controlled valves are used for this purpose to make it automatic and provide a continuous oxygen supply.

    “The material, zeolite, absorbs nitrogen from the air and throws it back to the atmosphere, hence the concentration of oxygen increases in the air at the outlet.

    The valve controls are achieved using a programmed micro-controller based circuit,” said Mitradip Bhattacharjee, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, IISER Bhopal.

    “This system prototype has already been developed and compared with the commercial systems currently available at the market and we have received positive outcomes.

    We are actively looking for industrial collaborations to further improve and manufacture the system at a larger scale and to deploy it after necessary testing and approvals,” he added.

    India logged a record 3,49,691 new coronavirus infections in a day taking its tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,69,60,172, while active cases crossed the 26-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

    The death toll increased to 1,92,311 with a record 2,767 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    Registering a steady increase, the active cases have increased to 26,82,751 comprising 15.82 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has further dropped to 83.05 per cent.