BackCovid-19: Mahindra's indigenously developed ventilator to cost less than ₹7,500
An ambu bag is a self-inflating device that is typically used to help patients with breathing problemsThe company's engineering teams had developed the prototype in 48 hours
PremiumMahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M), which recently announced plans to manufacture ventilators, has indigenously developed a prototype of bag valve mask, which is commonly known as an Ambu bag. This could cost less than ₹7,500, the company said.
The artificial manual-breathing unit, or ambu bag, is a self-inflating device that is typically used to help patients with breathing problems.
The engineering teams based at the automaker’s Kandivali (Mumbai) and Igatpuri (Nashik) manufacturing plants developed the prototype within 48 hours, M&M chairman Anand Mahindra said on Thursday.
Mahindra called the Ambu bag developed in-house a game changer and said in a tweet that it could cost less than ₹7,500 and thus help a large number of people. “We are simultaneously working with an indigenous maker of ICU ventilators. These are sophisticated machines costing ₹5-10 lakh. This device is an interim lifesaver and the team estimates that it will cost below ₹7,500," Mahindra said in a tweet.
“We will seek guidance from specialists on the usefulness of the device," he said.
On 22 March, Mahindra offered the government and concerned medical authorities help in scaling up production of ventilators, essential for critical patients infected with coronavirus. The company hopes to have the prototype ready within three days for approval, Pawan Goenka, managing director, M&M, had said.
“Once proven, this design will be made available to all for manufacturing," Goenka said on twitter.
M&M has teamed up with two state-owned companies and an unnamed ventilator manufacturer to simplify design and scale-up production of ventilators in India, Goenka said.
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