Mumbai student designs 'cool PPE kit'

Mumbai: With an aim to provide some relief to healthcare workers on the frontlines of the Covid-19 battle, a 19-year-old Mumbai student has developed a compact ventilation system for PPE kits.

Nihaal Singh Adarsh, a second-year student of K J Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai has developed a belt-like wearable ventilation system for PPE kits. He named it Cov-Tech Ventilation System which comes with a lithium-ion battery that lasts for 6 to 8 hours.

"Cov-Tech Ventilation System is like you are sitting under the fan even while you are inside the PPE suit. It takes the surrounding air, filters it and pushes it into the PPE suit. Normally, due to lack of ventilation, it is hot and humid within the PPE suit. Our solution offers a way out of this uncomfortable experience, by creating a steady airflow inside," Nihaal explained.

The design of the ventilation system ensures a complete air seal from the PPE kit. It provides a breeze of fresh air to the user in a gap of just 100 seconds.

Nihaal says his doctor mother's necessity became the source of inspiration for his invention. Nihaal's mother, Dr Poonam Kaur Adarsh is a doctor who has been treating Covid-19 patients at her clinic in Pune.