IIT Kanpur goes for commercial production of O2 concentrators

Transfers indigenous tech to Bengaluru based manufacturer

Amid the probable third wave jitters, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur has gone for the commercial production of its indigenously developed oxygen concentrators named ‘Sanjeevani’.

In order to reach commercial scale for benefiting the public at large, the premier organisation on Tuesday transferred and licensed the technology to Bengaluru based Albot Technologies Pvt Ltd by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the company.

Anticipating the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic and to maintain adequate supply of oxygen, a team of IIT Kanpur scientists had developed the O2 concentrator to generate the commodity at affordable cost whenever required and thus prevent a crisis situation.

Equipped with advanced PSA (pressure swing absorption) technology, Sanjeevani works at a flow rate of 10 LPM (litre per minute) with an oxygen purity of 92% ± 3. The concentrator has an adjustable capacity of 1 to 10 LPM, and is suitable for use for both medical as well as personal applications.

Meanwhile, IIT Kanpur director Prof Abhay Karandikar said the proposed School of Medical Research & Technology will comprise a 400 patient bed hospital. He emphasised that the multifarious R&D activity in the campus will promote advanced research leading to development of innovative and cost effective medical devices.

“The IIT Kanpur incubator is actively working with several stakeholders for expediting the medical devices development ecosystem in the country, including Yamuna expressway development authority and some international partners,” Professor In-Charge of Innovation and at IIT Kanpur Prof Amitabha Bandyopadhyay informed.

Since last year, when the pandemic hit India, the IIT Kanpur has emerged with a range of innovative devices to help the country overcome such challenges. These include facemasks, oxygen concentrators, low cost ventilators, sanitisation chambers, online education aids, PPT kits etc.

Some of the products were also developed by the IIT Kanpur incubated startups with the help of technical and financial support of its industry partners and sponsors.