COVID-19 crisis: IAF, DRDO come to the rescue as India faces acute oxygen shortage

As India faces rising COVID-19 cases and an acute shortage of oxygen cylinders, Defence Research and Development Organisation  has said that an on-board oxygen delivery system used in the Indian Air Force's Light Combat Aircraft Tejas can be utilised.

This on-board oxygen generation technology was developed for LCA Tejas. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was apprised about this technology in a COVID-19 preparedness review meeting with the armed forces and defence establishments.

The DRDO has developed SpO2 (Blood Oxygen Saturation) supplemental Oxygen Delivery System to make up for the massive shortage of oxygen gas cylinders across the country. This is an automatic system developed by the Defence Bio-Engineering and Electro Medical Laboratory (DEBEL) of DRDO in Bengaluru.

The oxygen delivery system can be used both for soldiers at high-altitude areas and COVID patients as it delivers supplemental on the basis of the SpO2 levels.

A 1,000 litre per minute capacity oxygen generation plants technology has been given to the industry and the Uttar Pradesh government has placed an order for five such plants.

In this meeting, the Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Dr G Satheesh Reddy stated more plants can be supplied to cater to hospital requirements.

This system reads SpO2 levels of the patient from a wrist-worn pulse oximeter module through wireless interface and controls a proportional solenoid valve to regulate the oxygen supply to the patient. This prevents hypoxia, a fatal condition in which the amount of oxygen reaching tissues is inadequate to fulfil all the energy requirements of the body.

According to a DRDO's press note, "This automated, easy to use Oxygen Delivery System now available is a great boon particularly in these critical items when medical resources are stretched to their limits. Its proliferation would mitigate the crisis in management of such a huge number of COVID patients in many ways all across the country."

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

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