Engineers From India’s Kashmir Build Low-Cost Ventilator Amid Scarcity of Life-Saving Units - Video

New Delhi (Sputnik): The total number of coronavirus cases has risen to more than 21,000, with more than 800 deaths, in India. While the country’s Health Ministry is working round-the-clock to boost healthcare, the nation has been buying equipment like testing kits, personal protective gear, and ventilators from abroad due to shortages.

Innovators and engineers from a Kashmiri university have created a prototype of a low-cost ventilator that is successfully running in a laboratory.

The prototype, named "Ruhdaar" (meaning soul revival), will be handed over to the Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, the state’s apex government medical and research hospital, for evaluation.

Proud of the team at IUST/NIT. A simple call between two friends finally resulted in a frugal ventilator made in Kashmir. Kudos to the team including @rahim_green , Profs. M. Siddiqui, S. Parvez, S. Nahvi, M. Koul, S. Fayaz, the wonderful team & @Raheelk
More to come! pic.twitter.com/CfGJhQfHjX

— Shabir Hassan (@shabirhsn) April 22, 2020

The life-saving device will be priced at no more than INR 15,000 ($197), while each commercial ventilator costs around INR 150,000 ($1,987).

The frugal ventilator was designed and developed by a team headed by Dr Shahkar Nehvi and Dr Majid Hamid Koul of the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) in collaboration with engineers Dr Majid Hamid Koul and Dr Saad of the National Institute of Technology (NIT).

According to the government of India, over 14,000 ventilators have been identified in various hospitals across the country. Ventilators remain a critical weapon in the fight against COVID-19, as the virus attacks the respiratory system of a patient. The Health Ministry recently announced that it has procured 49,000 ventilators, along with other essential medical supplies.