This man from Nagaland builds low-cost portable mechanical ventilator

Our Reporter
Dimapur, June 5 (EMN): With lockdown being imposed in the state since March and observing the challenges faced by healthcare sector in Nagaland, a young man named Clement Imsong from Dimapur decided to do something innovative and created a low-cost portable emergency mechanical ventilator, which operates on a normal household electricity line as well as batteries.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, the 31-year-old musician and businessman said that the ‘world as a whole is changing drastically, affecting the normalcy of day-to-day life.’

“In a way it also showed us how feeble and weak our system is; the same system we created to protect us is falling like dominoes,” Imsong said.

He shared that a friend from Iran, who had contracted Covid-19, eventually recovered because of good medical facilities in the country that helped. “I realised what we don’t have (good medical facilities) and how we could end up if we don’t have what is required; matter of fact, the chances of survival is very less if we don’t have it at all,” Imsong said, adding that it instigated him to search for alternative mechanical ventilators.

According to government data, Nagaland has only 36 ventilators with seven districts having only one each. This, Imsong said, was also the reason he decided to try and help ease the burden, by creating a low-cost machine, yet one of the most essentials during this pandemic.

“We need to work this out together in order for us to survive this pandemic and beyond; matter of fact, this calls for a new set of systems, a new mindset and a new way of life,” shared Imsong.

He informed that it took him two months to complete his portable ventilator.

“I used what was available at home in my garage as all materials were stuck in Guwahati due to lockdown and Google sketch up to 3D design the parts; I built it in my garage after many tries,” said Imsong.

Giving a step-by-step sxplaination about function of the portable ventilator in a video, which has since gone viral on social media, Imsong informed that it can resuscitate patients as well as provide artificial respiration. “It can have four different settings of pressure depending on the need of the patient from lowest setting of around 200ml/breath to max of 700 ml/breath.”

“It has a speed setting that regulates the breaths per minute and it can support any type of AMBU (artificial manual breathing unit) bags up to two litres of capacity,” he informed. 

When asked if he believes his ventilator will actually work and benefit people, Imsong said that he received positive feedback from many doctors from Dimapur and even a senior doctor from Guwahati.

“It is something that can be used as an emergency mechanical ventilator in the occasion when there’s a shortage of ventilators in the region; other districts have inadequate ventilators and if required I can make around 20 ventilators in a week,” shared Imsong.

Speaking about the durability of the machine, Imsong informed that many durability tests, even one where “his house almost burnt down,” were carried out to get maximum and positive results.

“Since this is just the prototype, we used MDF boards and if we have an interested party in this project, we can make a more durable one using materials like aluminium and steel,” he informed.

Imsong, who wished to encourage the youth as well, shared that many young Nagas are ‘too engrossed with social media and mobile games.’ “These are times which gives you a lot of free time and at the same time you have very limited choices of what you can do; try to be more productive and learn new skills that will not only benefit you but others also,” he stressed.

“Don’t let your life get affected by everything that comes up in the social media; stay safe and let’s fight Covid-19 together,” he shared.