Education ministry lauds IITs, NITs, IISERs, IIITs' contribution in fight against Covid-19

NEW DELHI: From low-cost ventilators, indigenous RT-PCR kits, low-cost oxygen supplementing products to mobile medical units, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) have come up with their new research products and innovations to meet the challenges thrown by the COVID-19 and to meet the demand of the society.

In a move to laud these centrally funded technical institutes (CFTIs) for their contribution to India’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the ministry of education has released a Covid-19 e-book highlighting their contribution.

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Keeping in view the urgent need of society and the medical community, the department of higher education took stock of the research activities in CFTIs as early as March 2020 and urged the institutes to develop alternative technology and products to meet the new challenges posed by COVID-19.

Low-cost ventilators, indigenous RT-PCR kits, low-cost oxygen supplementing products, automatic screening equipments, mobile medical units have been successfully brought out by these institutes.

“Many of these were commercialised by the start-ups in these Institutes or placed at the services of state government, local administration. Besides, start-ups under CFTIs have produced low-cost three-layered masks, PPE Kits, sanitizers, hand wash, thermal scanners, oximeters as a market-interventions strategy in a short span of time to check the rising cost of these products in the market. These Institutes made available these items to the local administration for their use on daily basis,” the Covid-19 e-book released by the education ministry read.

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Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)

During COVID-19, despite the lock-down in the campus, the Incubation Cells and startups in IITs have produced low-cost face shields, face masks, low-cost ventilators, PPE Kits, RT-PCR kits etc.

IIT Bombay developed and introduced apps for use by administration. Other research products like ICU ventilators (Vi-SWAAS), robotic disinfection unit etc to combat with COVID-19 have been designed, developed and commercialised.

IIT Delhi - Corona testing kit, "Corosure", of IIT Delhi has been successfully patented and approved by ICMR and has been into commercial production at low cost. IIT Delhi has also brought out a research paper on the efficacy of "Ashwagandha" for COVID-19 patients, a traditional medicine used for immunity and strength in Ayurveda.

IIT Madras - Ubiqare developed by IIT Madras enables doctor-driven speciality care to patients at home, reducing hospital visits and stays. These were successfully introduced in clinical trials.

IIT Kanpur played a central role in the national project of developing SUTRA model for predicting the Covid-19 trajectory. In 2020 as the first wave of COVID-19 hit, IIT Kanpur's incubated company, Noccarc Robotics, developed an ICU ventilator, Noccarc V310, in just 90 days. The product has been working in more than 2,500 hospitals across the country.

IIT Kharagpur has brought out a kit named COVIRAP, a nucleic acid-based detection of disease, and COVICUBE device for checking oxygen and breathing saturation, which has been successfully commercialised.

IIT Roorkee has made available low-cost ventilators and other products to state administration.

IIT (BHU) Varanasi is also working on various projects related to COVID-19, including one funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. The institute is also participating in UP Government's initiatives related to oxygen audit and also involved in various outreach activities during the COVID period.

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Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore

IISC has developed Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory on wheels to perform end to end RT-PCR tests in remote parts of the country to help reduce turnaround time and increase access to RT-PCR tests.

First set including 3 satellite labs and 1 nodal hub deployed across Bangalore and Delhi. Portable thermal cycler and fluorescence reader instruments to enable molecular diagnostic tests for COVID-19 and other infections is in the process of development.

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IISc has also conducted various research studies in Bangalore city and Mumbai suburban local trains to study the pattern of spread of virus, which will be useful in future modelling of strategy for crowded cities and its outskirts.

Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs)

IISER, Pune has developed a laboratory prototype of a low-cost, mass-producible ICU ventilator with features comparable to commercially available ventilators.

“The institute has also demonstrated a chemical oxygen generator which can produce oxygen at a rate of 5-10 lt per min by mixing easily available chemicals. It can produce enough quantities of breathable oxygen in sufficient ow rates without the requirement of electricity and can be utilised at home or while transporting the patients or as a stop-gap arrangement in emergency situations,” it said.

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National Institutes of Technology (NITs)

Motilal Nehru NIT, Allahabad has led for patents for Deep learning and lungs X-Ray image-based detection system for Covid-19, anti-microbial herbal formulation, VIRALYSER 1.0, and a portable box to sanitize inanimate items, The institute has also developed AMRIT (Assessment, Monitoring, Reporting and Intelligent Tracking) App. It is a mobile-based application to track patients having cough, cold, fever or breathing problems and is currently being used by the local administration, chemists, medical practitioners and Asha workers.

Other NITs have also developed sanitizers using different disinfection technologies, ventilators, oxygen generator systems, mobile apps and are working on other COVID-related research projects.

Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)

IIITD&M Kancheepuram has developed UV sanitizer designed for grocery shops and supermarkets. The product has been commercialized by VLOG Innovations LLP, Chennai and is already in the market. IIIT Nagpur has signed an MOU with AIIMS, Nagpur for facilitating Research Collaboration. Under this MOU, the Institute has already developed a device for effective tracking and monitoring of the COVID-19 patients.

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The ministry of education said, “most of these research products are successfully tested and prototype ready for transfer to industries for commercial production. Some of the products have already been commercialised.”

“These institutes need full support of various agencies in granting the necessary approvals on priority basis so that their products are successfully patented and commercialised for mass production,” the ministry said.

“These products also need to be popularised by organising fairs, e-fairs to begin with, and enhancing institutes' interaction with industry chambers,” it added.