Coronavirus outbreak: City startup develops PAPR respirator prototype for frontline health workers

Safety first

Deepak Sethuraman with the PAPR.

To protect frontline health workers from Covid-19, a city-based startup has come up with a Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR). A prototype developed by them with indigenous technology and design is said to be far cheaper than the equivalent product now being imported.

Dealing with the contagious Covid-19 cases at close quarters, health workers are at a high risk of contracting the dreaded disease. This was what drove Deepak Sethuraman and Vic Parmar, cofounders of Oxyour, to make the PAPR prototype right from their homes in the city.

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The respirator has a visor with a tube attached at the back linking it to a belt. The belt is connected to a bacterial and viral H13 filter, strapped to the hip. Once a health worker wears the PAPR, fresh air is continuously pumped by a powered machine.

The fresh air gets into the hood through the tube, replacing any infection-filled air. This way, the fresh air prevents the health worker from breathing in germ-filled air either through the nose or mouth. As Deepak explains, the equipment can offer 99.97% filtration.

PAPRs, he notes, are typically only used for extremely contagious diseases such as tuberculosis. “With the current outbreak of Covid-19, PAPRs are being used more frequently and are in short supply. Hospital staff are reusing and sharing them.”

Stuck at home due to the lockdown, the duo had contacted industrial designers, doctors and pulmologists abroad to finetune their prototype.

After several weeks of intense research and hands-on designing with a 3D printer, they finally developed a working prototype.

As Deepak says, the next big challenge is in getting the prototype into mass production. Currently, PAPRs are being imported at prohibitively expensive rates, primarily from the United States at costs that hover around USD 2,000 (approx Rs 1,50,000). However, this supply chain has been interrupted with the US government banning its export.

The duo is now looking for a company/institution with resources to test and mass produce the PAPR. “The product needs to be configured as per different requirements, long-lasting battery life for instance. We are looking for manufacturing partners who can take it to the masses. Mass production can drastically reduce the costs,” says Deepak.