In an initiative to help fightCOVID-19, the Innovation Council of Jadavpur University has asked its students to work on certain concepts and submit proof of concept (PoC).One of the concepts is about developing a tiny gadget which will be connected to electrocardiogram (ECG) leads and the ECG recordings can be sent via Bluetooth to the smartphone of a doctor, a JU official said on Monday.Recording of ECG leads allows calculation of the heart rate, and diagnosis of the heart rhythm."For a coronavirus patient, lung infection can spread to heart and other organs. Since all the health parametres of a critical patient are monitored regularly, this gadget will be of great help," he said.As the recordings can be displayed on the mobile screen of the doctor, monitoring of serious patients can be done from any place, he said."Now we have invited students to work on the idea in view of coronavirus outbreak. Later it can be used for critical patients in rural areas. It will benefit patients as well as it is economical," the official said.The official expressed hope that the students will be able to devise the concept after the institute laboratory opens.The second concept, also related to coronavirus, is about a mobile app which will use smartphones of the quarantined persons to send an alarm, as soon as they step out of a quarantined zone."It will be useful for the authorities to keep track of those lodged at a quarantine centre," the official said."We have put up these concept challenges on the universitys website asking the students to submit Proof of Concept level design through electronic submission during the lock-down period," the official said.Selection for development of a prototype from the selected entries will be made after the laboratories open.The submitted entries will undergo a selection for development of a prototype once the labs open.Meanwhile, the Centre for Appropriate Social Technologies (CAST) of the university has developed a three- layer protective mask which can be easily prepared at home with readily available materials.A video has been circulated in the social media for letting people know how to prepare the mask, the official said.
