Lieutenant General VK Dhir, who retired from the corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering as the Director General in 2005, has developed the prototype with the aid of a local electrician from Mullanpur

A retired Lieutenant General settled in the city has developed a prototype for a portable and affordable ventilator within two weeks. Lieutenant General VK Dhir, who retired from the corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (EME) as the Director General (DG) in 2005, has developed the prototype with the aid of a local electrician from Mullanpur named Gurpreet Singh.

Lieutenant General Dhir was already in conversation with Singh about innovating something, and the ventilator served as the chance for them to finally collaborate.

“This young man works locally here as an electrician and is quite talented. He spoke to me about inventing something and I told him that I will keep him in the loop when the opportunity comes up. So I roped him in when I conceptualised this model,” said the veteran, who added that he was behind the conception and the design of the machine, while Singh primarily aided the physical engineering of the machine.

The prototype is that of an automated AMBU bag which provides facilities for controlling the respiratory rate and the tidal volume.

Furthermore, it has built in safety features and alarms for any malfunction. “In case of emergency caused due to failure of ventilating mechanism a standby is available within the system,” added Lieutenant General Dhir.

However according to the veteran, what truly sets the prototype apart from other such automatic AMBU ventilators, is that the same machine can be used to deliver concentrated oxygen to two people at once.

“If and when this pandemic reaches the rural areas of the country, there will be an acute shortage of ventilators and it will be next to impossible to procure enough traditional ventilators in those parts. This machine will van be easily transported and affordable, and will also provide support to double the number of patients,” he stated.

The Lieutenant General added that he is currently in the process of getting the machine vetted and evaluated for potential mass production of the prototype. The veteran has been behind the creation of Windy 505, an all-terrain vehicle which is also patented in his name.

“This ventilator is just to inspire more people to continue to contribute to the nation in different ways in times of need,” he further added.