IITs fight against coronavirus with innovative contributions

The year 2020 plagued the entire world with the coronavirus, an outbreak which became uncontainable overnight. With more than 2 million confirmed cases recorded across India, the pandemic brought about consequences no one could predict. In just three weeks, the nation went from the world's sixth-worst affected country to the third.

As a country, India requires every single ounce of help it can get to control the outbreak. Over the past few months, the manner in which IITs have decided to fight against coronavirus has been a prime example of how educational institutions have stepped up to help the nation. From providing sanitizers and face masks to affordable COVID-19 testing kits and make-shift isolation wards, IITs have truly risen to the occasion. 

Let us have a quick look at the interesting innovations that have come about in IITs fight against coronavirus. 

Corona-killer mask

IIT Bombay stepped up and partnered with Ants Innovations Private Limited, to develop the corona-killer mask with Duraport Technology. The KC-99 (Killing Corona- 99.9%) Ant-i Corona Mask ensures the virus does not survive on our face mask surface, thus, reducing the chance of infections exponentially. 

The 2-ply, 100% cotton face mask is marketed at a highly affordable price of Rs. 149 only. Along with being reusable, and available in different sizes, the mask is held properly behind the head with a cotton rope to ease out the continuous pressure on our ears. Moreover, it hangs around the neck, making it the easiest, cleanest and the neatest way to handle a mask.

Students from IIT Bombay have encouraged people to choose a mask that doesn’t reduce but eliminates the risk of carrying the virus. A life-saving contribution like this has only pushed IITs fight against coronavirus in a positive direction. 

Smart wristbands for monitoring

In a collaboration between IIT Jodhpur and AIIMS Nagpur, an indigenously designed smart wristband has been developed to monitor and track COVID-19 positive and suspect patients. It aims to overcome the limitations that persist in online mobile apps for tracking and monitoring. 

The novel device originating from IITs, to aid their fight against coronavirus, provides mobile free operation using a geofencing technology which provides a real-time alert on any breach in the quarantine zone. It also shows real-time, objective and reliable data of vitals of the wearer like the temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate and the oxygen saturation, so that the quarantined person gets a health alarm, which helps them seek early medical help.

All of the data is collected on the cloud, facilitating health workers to help patients from a safe distance. 

Production of N95 face masks

Amidst the pandemic, face masks have become an essential commodity that we all need to reduce the spread of the virus. In IITs fight against coronavirus, IIT Kanpur has backed a start-up named Espin Nanotech Private Limited, which produces more than 30,000 masks daily from the campus itself. 

These masks, named Swasa N95, came into the limelight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen wearing it during the ‘bhoomi pujan’ of Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5. Consequently, IIT Kanpur was praised for its indigenously developed ‘Made in India’ product.

Antibacterial and antiviral, the Swasa N95 face mask allows for easy breathing with its ultra-soft fabric, provides adjustable earloop, and is claimed to be effective for 100 hours of usage. The IIT Kanpur back start-up has tied up with Flipkart to market the product and plans to launch more categories of face masks. 

The battle against this pandemic is, without a doubt, long and stressful. And it’s important to appreciate the efforts of professors, students, researchers, and everybody else who is out there doing their level best to make sure we come out of this phase safe and victorious. The fight of IITs against coronavirus along with their never-ending determination has definitely helped instil a sense of hope and optimism within us as the world tries to adjust to the new normal. 

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