This young entrepreneur is making affordable ventilators for the masses

The coronavirus outbreak has exposed an acute shortage of ventilators in hospitals. India had only 48,000 such devices available to deal with the new virus, which causes severe breathing ailments. Despite the government providing 50,000 more under the PM Cares programme, overall availability is abysmally low.

In this crisis, start-ups are lending a helping hand. Bengaluru-based Biodesign Innovation Labs is one such player, which is pitching its low-cost ventilator solution to hospitals. Its flagship product RespirAID is a portable computer-powered respiratory device that can be used until the patient is put onto a mechanical ventilator.

"The coronavirus crisis has brought the spotlight on indigenous, innovative solutions like ours," says Biodesign Innovation CEO and co-founder Gautham Pasupuleti, who has been working in the field of medical device for six years and set up Biodesign Innovation in 2017 with his brother Adithya.

Previously, he was a researcher at MIT Media Lab, in Boston, US, where he developed ophthalmology devices in collaboration with hospitals and also researched on AI-based technologies for eye care and early cancer detection. During his time in the states, he founded an eye-care start-up CornealX, which is now part of Biodesign Innovation Labs. Pasupuleti is an instrumentation engineering graduate from Anna University in Chennai.

The goal behind starting Biodesign Innovations was to make medical devices more affordable in India, says Pasupuleti, adding that it received support from various forums along the way. It was supported by a grant from the Department of Biotechnology-Government of India, and Government of Karnataka, and was also selected Qualcomm Design in India challenge.

The RespirAID device essentially provides “intermittent positive pressure ventilation” and its portable size allows healthcare professionals to carry it easily during transportation and emergency situations.

It is meant to be used in place of AMBU (artificial manual breathing unit) bags, which are sometimes inconsistent and unreliable. RespirAID on the other hand has computer-operated and minimises skill dependence. This device can run for up to three hours on battery and for a few days on power support in a hospital setup. It is, however, not a replacement of ICU ventilator units and only a temporary alternative till such devices are not available.

“With a shortage of almost one million ventilators, but a staggering demand of 80 perecnt, there is an immediate need for a safe, reliable and affordable device to assist in ventilation for critical patients in secondary hospitals,” says Pasupuleti.

According to the company, respiratory problem causes 1,800-plus deaths per day in India, most of which happen to infants who are more susceptible to pneumonia, sepsis, and malaria.

Pasupuleti says now the company is in the process of installing it in hospitals. It has partnered with a private health-care company that is re-selling its solutions in hospitals in Bangalore, Chennai, and Kerala. It is also in discussions with government of Karnataka and Haryana for deployment.

For mass adoption, the company is also offering to license the portable ventilators to any company that wants to produce them on a mass scale. “Once there is a steady pipeline of orders, we will ramp up manufacturing,” said Pasupuleti.

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