IIT Ropar develops negative pressure room, now developing negative pressure ambulance, isolation rooms & ICUs

During the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, CII has significantly contributed in building collaborations wherever possible between companies and academic institutions. In partnership with ACMA, SIAM, IMTMA and SIDM, CII formed a network of companies for augmenting the inventory of ventilators through manufacturing by utilizing their resources such as plant and machinery and highly skilled manpower to mass-manufacture ventilators or through import. Parallely , with the support of the PSA’s office, a consortium of innovative COVID-19 technologies, offered by industry and start-ups incubated by national research laboratories, government agencies and academic institutions was also formed to make technologies available for industry partnerships.

IIT Ropar has signed a technology transfer agreement with Espee Industries, Chandigarh for the manufacturing of UV-C Sterilization Unit that can kill microbes. Further, the Institute has also developed a design of a Negative Pressure Room (NPR) to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 through the air at isolation wards and testing labs. This technology will prevent the most vulnerable medical staff from infection. IIT Ropar is installing these low-cost negative pressure cabins in the COVID-19 wards of the medical centres in Rupnagar through the CSR support from Ansys Inc. In addition, it is jointly developing the country’s first negative pressure ambulance, isolation room and ICU rooms (fully equipped with medical facilities) with Bafna Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Faridabad, under an exclusive MoU signed with the company. Researchers at the Institute have also developed anti-microbial coatings for PPE kits and disinfectant spray in tunnels. This technology has received a lot of traction and active technology transfer negotiations are underway.