IIT Kanpur partners ICICI Securities for producing affordable ventilators

ICICI Securities, a division of the private sector banking and investment conglomerate ICICI Group, has joined hands with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, and Nocca Robotics as a ‘technology development partner’ for the development of invasive, affordable and indigenised ventilators for the treatment of critical Covid-19 patients.
 

IIT-Kanpur, along with Nocca Robotics, a start-up incubated at Start-up Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur, has joined hands with bio-medical engineers, doctors, R&D leaders, supply chain, medtech business heads etc, to work on developing an affordable mechanical ventilator.
 

According to reports, one out of every six 6 coronavairus patients develops acute breathing difficulties. In such cases, availability of ventilators is crucial for the treatment of these critically ill patients. To meet this growing demand for ventilators, it is deemed vital that the country’s innovators and experts work together to develop affordable and simple solutions.
 

“Covid-19 has created a pandemic and has affected the entire ecosystem. While research on diagnosing and curing the disease is underway, there is an immediate need to ensure affordable and low-cost life saving devices. ICICI Securities is happy to partner with IIT Kanpur, as part of our CSR initiative, to quickly bring to market these life saving indigenised, portable, affordable and invasive ventilators estimated to directly impact 0.2 million lives,” said Vijay Chandok, MD & CEO, ICICI securities.
 

He noted the project team has set a “very tight deadline’ so that the nation at large is benefitted. “I am confident that the final product will exceed expectations on cost and functionality,” he said.
 

“At IIT Kanpur, we are doing our bit towards global efforts on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Our team is working hard to design an affordable yet fully functional ventilator. We are happy to join hands with ICICI Securities as a technology development partner to bring this project to light and hope that more companies will come forward to work with us in this fight against the pandemic,” IIT Kanpur director Prof Abhay Karandikar said.
 

Under this ‘fast-track’ project, the product, after design, development and testing of prototypes at multiple centres, will be ready for the market soon.
 

Set up in 1959, IIT Kanpur is currently celebrating its diamond jubilee. The Institute boasts of more than 40,000 alumni across the globe in varied fields and disciplines.
 

The institute’s Startup Innovation & Incubation Center supports start-ups and encourages innovation amongst the students of IIT Kanpur by providing guidance, access to infrastructure facilities and funding. With over 20 departments and inter-disciplinary programmes, IIT Kanpur espouses a tradition of research.
 

ICICI Securities Limited is a subsidiary of ICICI Bank. It operates www.icicidirect.com, India’s leading virtual financial supermarket, catering the three needs of its clients – investments, protection, and borrowing. I-Sec is listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).