IIT Guwahati students develop low-cost devices to disinfect gloves, masks amidst COVID-19

In new research development news, IIT Guwahati students are the latest entries to have developed new low-cost devices to fight against the COVID-19 virus. Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati is currently in the news for having developed an innovative heat-based sanitizer box, disinfectant tunnel, foot-operated hand sanitisation system as well as low-cost face masks to fight against the coronavirus. Read on to know more about the details of this new development from IIT Guwahati students.

ALSO READ| Passenger On Alliance Air's Delhi-Ludhiana Flight Tests Positive For Coronavirus

IIT Guwahati develops low-cost devices to fight against COVID-19

Groups of students, one each under Dr Uday Shanker Dixit, a reputed Professor from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr Supradip Das, Assistant Professor, Department of Design, Dr Arun Chandra Borsaikia, Department of Civil Engineering (of an IIT Guwahati-incubated start-up), Mr Himujjall Sarmah, an Industrial Designer, and an alumnus of IIT Guwahati are some of the teams being credited for these new developments.

image courtesy: IITG website

How do these new low-cost devices work?

• A heat-based sanitizer trunk was made to disinfect household items including clothes, papers, currency notes wallets etc.  The cost for making a small-sized trunk would require about Rs 50 whereas a relatively bigger trunk could be made in around Rs 300.
• A light-weight injection mould was made so as to use it for mass manufacturing of face shields. This would help cater to the massive need of hospitals for masks as these face shields are non-porous, recyclable, reusable and autoclavable.
• An IITG incubated startup has developed an effective sanitisation tunnel which could be installed in confined places. It enables full-body disinfection for an individual at a time. The cost for the full-body decontamination is kept at Rs 2 per person. 
• A foot-operated hand-sanitisation system was also developed by IITG team so as to sanitise hands in a freehand way. The instrument is a low cost electronic freehand sanitization system that can be operated by foot so as to avoid contamination by hands. 

ALSO READ| 'Dhadkan' Actor Kiran Kumar Tests Negative For Coronavirus In Third Check Up: Reports

Developments by other IITs for COVID-19 prevention 

Several Institutes in India had come up with various new and innovative and low-cost measures to fight against COVID-19 during the lockdown. Recently the IIT Kanpur students had developed low-cost PPEs that is personal protection equipment, face shield/masks and even a ventilator prototype. While IIT Bombay made an app to monitor the COVID-19 quarantined people. IIT Delhi made COVID predicting dashboards as well as low-cost test kits amongst many other items. 

ALSO READ| Amitabh Bachchan Is All Praises For The Trailer Of Ram Gopal Varma's Film ‘Coronavirus’

ALSO READ| LA's Largest Drive-through Coronavirus Testing Site Opens At Dodger Stadium

Promo Image courtesy: Ani Kolleshi on Unsplash