[sgiitk]

Great news. There are no Ventilators available abroad. Maybe the Chinese have some spare, now that the worst is over for them.

Remember Italy are the world leaders in managing respiratory issues. Europe is totally overwhelmed.

[one-77]

As an Intensivist-in-training, I am more than a bit worried about what awaits our country if this crisis were to blow up the way it has in Europe.
Italy spends about 9% of its GDP compared to our paltry 1% on healthcare. Having done my MBBS and MD from government institutes, I am aware of how resource limited our public health system is, and even in Mumbai, the public hospitals have hardly any ventilators or intensivists. If Europe is unable to cope with the patient burden, we’re in for a disaster.
The need of the hour is traditional makers of ventilators - GE, Siemens, and Drager - should subcontract companies like Mahindra and Tata to ramp up production and cut prices significantly.

However, on the positive side, unlike Europe we do have a young population (the disease is most severe in the old with pre existing comorbidities) and we’re moving towards the summer, which might help contain the spread of the virus.

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by one-77

However, on the positive side, unlike Europe we do have a young population (the disease is most severe in the old with pre existing comorbidities) and we’re moving towards the summer, which might help contain the spread of the virus.

This may not be a relevant positive. Keeping aside the percentages, we too have a large population of old people. In terms of numbers, the number of people above 60 (approximately 9%) in India might be close to twice the population of Italy. We definitely have reason to fear. However, the disease is not spreading very rapidly in India, or the detection rate in the country is bad. In the second case we are staring at a bleak future.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by TDCi'd

I work for one such ventilator manufacturing company. I can tell you, even if they do have the blueprints for a device. Manufacturing it and then making sure it works properly is no mean feat.

That's a bummer. This interview with Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan gave an impression otherwise. Watch from 23rd minute

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrrsXCxs2xg

[ohaak]

Dr Ramanan is an economist PHD. He is no medical doctor. There are no sources revealed for his statistical projections. Take it with a pinch of salt.

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

That's a bummer. This interview with Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan gave an impression otherwise. Watch from 23rd minute

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=FrrsXCxs2xg

Everything about this is misleading. We can't have a guy having a Phd. in economics being called for a discussion on something medical just because he has some mathematical projection for trajectory based on some model. He is not a qualified medical professional.

Please be aware of such folks. He is doing this for PR and requesting testing of everyone so that he can sell more diagnostic kits.

This guy didn't reveal on show that he is a Director of a medical diagnostics company named HealthCube and also a Director in a US based NGO with FCRA and patent violations in India.

https://www.zaubacorp.com/company/HE...L2015FTC287198

[TDCi'd]

Originally Posted by nasa_hubble

In case of lack of venti's we can try Ambu-Bag (BMV) but that requires a person to constantly keep pumping and a lot of other complications may arise. What if a low- tech automated ambu bag is system is made, with one big compressor providing compression function for multiple ambu-bags regulated via valves or some other way. Even found a patent for an automated BMV.link

Without getting too technical, i saw a post on reddit by an intensivist who posted ,people who are suffering from ARDS are being treated with 90% O2 concentration and PEEP of 16 mbar. This firstly is NOT normal. High concentration of O2 for prolonged periods in extremely toxic to the body. And PEEP is residual pressure left in the lung after your breathe out so your lung doesn't collapse within itself. Having a PEEP 16 mBar forces the lung(alveoli to be precise) open always and imagine your lungs being stretched to their maximum always.

All this is done so there is gas exchange in your lung. These are extremes of the normal settings but nevertheless they are deemed necessary by the medical community for this problem. Now imagine taking a pump and continuously pumping air into the patients lung without knowing what pressure or volume is going in to the patient. That's what the ambu does. It will not be a solution to the problem. Nor will any new ventilator hastily put together by a car manufacturer.

The only feasible way has to be a tie up with an existing ventilator manufacturer to offset their lack of manpower/production line. Something along the lines of what Musk inteds to do with Hamilton (who is also a very respected name in ventilation)

Originally Posted by one-77

The need of the hour is traditional makers of ventilators - GE, Siemens, and Drager - should subcontract companies like Mahindra and Tata to ramp up production and cut prices significantly.

Well we are limited by our own supply chain. A ventilator is assembled with X spares which in turn have to be sourced from our vendors and they keep a stockpile of spares based on our previous orders to them. Unfortunately no one could have ever foreseen this sort of a demand.

None of the manufacturers you mentioned have assembly lines here. The only one I can think of is Skanray and they have their plant in Mysore.

@Mods please merge this with my earlier post. I missed out on multi quote.

[JediKnight]

Anand Mahindra is a clever guy. i think he is smelling a business opportunity and a way to keep his factories busy if shit hits the fan and we head towards the worst case. Nobody will buy cars then and his resorts will be empty as well. Forgoing of salary has no meaning to guys at his level. I follow his tweets. He has knack of wrapping business tactics in a politically correct spin with tadka of charity and desh-bhakti to make our gullible middle classes go weak in the knees.

[yesyeswe]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

Anand Mahindra is a clever guy. i think he is smelling a business opportunity and a way to keep his factories busy if shit hits the fan and we head towards the worst case.

Even that's better than factories remaining shut and people out of jobs, if he starts manufacturing ventilators it will be beneficial for our country. Money for him, ventilators and jobs for us, win-win for both the parties.

I hope every big industry becomes greedy like him and start manufacturing medical equipments

[aashishnb]

The way I read it, he said they will 'check' or do a 'feasibility study' to see if their group can manufacture ventilators, he did not say he's starting the batch tomorrow!

So as part of their feasibility study, they can try and do a tie-up with someone who has the technical resources i.e. know-how and offer their 'physical' resources i.e. factories which are relatively idle.

Also, I think the doctors on this forum are, and rightly so, considering Ventilator (with a capital V) as the specialist device used in hospitals. My late grandmother-in-law had a small oxygen machine (not larger than a bucket), at home due to her breathing problem, which was used on a daily basis.
Perhaps, and I'm trying to stretch the benefit of the doubt here, he could have meant ventilator in its generic sense to include all such machines that could be of help to patients who are not yet critical but need support in breathing.

[rdst_1]

Can someone with the knowledge tell us what kind of ventilator would be needed for patients suffering from sever CoVID 19. There are many devices right from breathing helpers to ICU ventilators available through sellers on Indiamart from 60k to 12L. Even read an article which says a special division of DRDO developed an Indian ventilator for around 4-4.5L instead of an imported ventilator which cost between 7-12L back in 2011.

[distiller]

I think its a great humanitarian thing for Anand Mahindra to say and own his words. I understand that manufacturing ventilators will be not an easy job, maybe for me. But for a person like Anand Mahindra having access to good capital, talented pool of financial & technical expertise it can be possible. Now whether we look towards it as a business opportunity or CSR, it depends on how we process and disseminate the information. Although I feel we need people like Anand Mahindra who can come to front and do some action whenever the humanity needs help.

[VJ05]

Even if it's a business opportunity by Anand Mahindra. It takes a whole lot of effort and guts to start something afresh in which they don't have any expertise. Even if they want to make the Ventilators seriously, it's no easy task. Setting up the supply chain for components, obtaining technology expertise, training people, setting up/modifying assembly lines will take time and can't be done overnight.

If we're already in a 3rd stage, then we would be needing ventilators urgently from anywhere or else there would be serious consequences for the Country which I would not like to imagine now.

[download2live]

I also work in a company which makes ventilators. And yes. It is not a small undertaking. It takes at least 5 years from design to FDA approval to finally being in market.

Right now the biggest issue is that we don't have parts to make them at full swing because of supplies drying up from China due to lockdowns there.

It is a very small market and accordingly manufacturers have designed the manufacturing process. It is simply the way it is.

[jeepster]

He is just an opportunistic businessman!

• Imo he should have supplied vehicles to Officials/NGO/Police/Hospitals to fight against Covid19.

(at dealership level - demo vehicles, pickup, and their breakdown recovery vehicles with drivers and staff)

• Or Free call center service or any tech related service by Tech Mahindrta.

• Or nothing.

But as we all know he just tweeted out of the blue for cheap PR.