Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

As the demand for oxygen increased at hospitals amid this second wave of the pandemic, a group of Buet researchers has developed a low-cost portable ventilator that can deliver oxygen to patients efficiently without electricity.

The non-invasive device, which requires a connection with an cylinder or medical oxygen supply, is designed to help severe coronavirus patients with low oxygen levels, according to the researchers.

Named OxyJet CPAP by the researchers from Buet’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, it has already been field-tested and approved for clinical trials.

This device can be used in remote villages or ambulances -- wherever it is possible to carry cylinders -- as an alternative to the high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) support.

“We’ve developed a non-invasive CPAP ventilator that runs without electricity. The main goal of the device is to provide oxygen treatment to patients of general wards and prevent ICU admission,” Dr Taufiq Hasan, the supervisor of the project and a co-inventor, told The Daily Star.