ISRO develops 3 types of ventilators(PRENA, VaU, SVASTA) to battle Covid-19

Contents

• 1
• 2 What is the News?
• 3 Which are those three ventilators developed by ISRO?
• 4 VaU(Ventilation assist Unit):
• 5 Space Ventilator Aided System for Trauma Assistance(SVASTA)

What is the News?

Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) has developed three types of ventilators(PRENA, VaU, SVASTA). These three ventilators have been developed at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre(VSSC), a major space research centre of ISRO in Kerala.

Moreover, ISRO has said that it will transfer the technology of these ventilators to industry for clinical usage as India battles the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

Which are those three ventilators developed by ISRO?

 PRANA(Programmable Respiratory Assistance for the Needy Aid):

• PRANA is a low-cost and portable critical care ventilator. The ventilator is based on the automated compression of an AMBU (Artificial Manual Breathing Unit) bag.
  • AMBU is a device commonly used to provide positive pressure ventilation to patients who are not breathing or not breathing adequately.
  • Positive pressure ventilation is a form of respiratory therapy that involves the delivery of air or a mixture of oxygen combined with other gases by positive pressure into the lungs.
• Features:
  • The ventilator has a control system that includes an airway pressure sensor, flow sensor, oxygen sensor as well as expiration and PEEP (Positive End Expiratory Pressure) control valve.
  • The ventilator supports both invasive and non-invasive ventilation modes.
  • It is capable of giving mandatory breaths (controlled by a ventilator) as well as spontaneous breaths (controlled by the patient).
  • A robust algorithm for controlled and safe ventilation of the patient is implemented in the device. This raises an alarm and opens safety valves to prevent barotrauma, asphyxia during the ventilation.
  • There are also provisions to attach bacterial viral filters at each interface to prevent cross-infection and the contamination of air.

VaU(Ventilation assist Unit):

• VaU is an ICU grade positive pressure mechanical ventilator. It can assist or replace spontaneous breathing problems in patients under respiratory distress.
• Working: The ventilator is based on a centrifugal blower that draws in filtered ambient air, compresses it and delivers it to the patient to achieve ventilation. It can therefore operate without a compressed pneumatic source.
• The ventilator has been configured to operate in a variety of patient/ventilator triggered invasive and non-invasive ventilation modes. It also has provisions to detect fault conditions and raise alarms.

Space Ventilator Aided System for Trauma Assistance(SVASTA)

• SVASTA is a gas-powered ventilator. It can be used for non-invasive ventilation. Hence, it is well-suited for emergency use for first-line treatment and as transit ventilators inside vehicles.
• Working: The ventilator runs on compressed air. It is able to perform various ventilation conditions using manual mechanical settings.
• Significance: The basic design of the ventilator is simple as the components of it can be easily mass-produced for emergency use in pandemic like situations.

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Source: Indian Express