NEW DELHI:
Sachin Sharma is a big fan of legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and dreamed of devoting his entire life to the sport. This dream was fast approaching fruition until he suddenly discovered that he was suffering from cervical spine disease.
For the last four years, Sachin has been undergoing treatment on ventilator support at the neurosurgery ward of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He was also away from home as his parents could not afford to buy a ventilator, which costs almost Rs 5 to 10 lakh.
As reported across publications, this scenario is all set to change, as one the world’s cheapest and smallest ventilator, has been developed by 25-year-old inventor Diwakar Vaish, a young robotics engineer in Delhi, in collaboration with Dr Deepak Agrawal, a neurosurgeon at AIIMS.
Dr Agrawal mentioned that the ventilator is both affordable and portable. It costs around Rs 35,000 and is controlled with an Android app. In addition to this, the machine also uses electricity economically, said the experts.
Dr Agrawal said, “Usually, imported equipments that are used in most hospitals increase the overall cost of treatment. We wanted to find a solution to this problem, so that the cost can be minimized, making the treatment reach out to many more. So rather than depending on private players, we took this small step to make one on our own.”
“It is equivalent to 100 watts, which means using two tube lights. There is no need for a special technician to run these ventilators,” said Diwakar Vaish
“The traditional ventilator is heavy and needs a constant supply of oxygen; the daily expense is Rs 5,000 to 6,000. This advanced machine works on room air. For the last four years, we have been living without Sachin. We can’t wait to bring him back,” said Sachin’s father, Kishan Lal Sharma.
Another patient and a beneficiary of the technology is 14-year-old Rohit Basak. Originally from Bihar, he was brought to AIIMS after falling off a bicycle, which resulted in a severe spinal injury.However, thanks to this invention, his family, like Sachin’s is also being trained to operate the ventilator and will soon be able to take him back home.
