‘Swasner’ developed by students IIIT Bhubaneswar can be a game-changer in fight against COVID-19

Bhubaneswar:  Good news for COVID-19 patients who are struggling with breathing problems. A group of IIIT, Bhubaneswar students has developed a helmet-like ventilation device that will make a difference in treating patients with breathing problems.

According to the students-turned-developers, the device has been named as ‘Swasner’. It functions on the principle of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Wearing this device, a patient can inhale pure oxygen to speed up body’s healing process. Apart from COVID-19 patients, those who are suffering from respiratory diseases can also get benefits from this device.

They further stated that they have used medicated plastic collected from Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in developing ‘Swasner’. There is a bubble-like enclosure fitted to the base. Oxygen is pumped into the chamber of the enclosure. In hospitals, the device can be mounted on walls. They also pointed it out that ‘Swasner’ could be an affordable alternative to costly ventilators.

The developers include Shovit Mitra, Sidharth Shankar Nayak, Ananya Aprameya, Tapaswin Padhi,  Sai Sambit Nayak, Divyajyoti Dash, Vitthal Gupta of IIIT, Bhubaneswar and Jivitesh Debata of ITER and Nand Kishore Gupta of NSIT, Delhi. It took four months for them to give the device its final shape.

Some devices have been sent to hospitals in Cuttack and Mumbai for clinical tests, it was learnt.

PNN