Category Archives: Science & Technology

Varsity develops bio-safety devices to combat COVID-19

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Mysuru-based JSSAHER has come up with ICU on-wheels, low-cost ventilator, DentiSafe, multimode air sanitizer and hand-held UV surface sanitizer

The research team of the Mysuru-based JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research (JSSAHER), the health sciences-focussed deemed university, has developed new bio-safety technologies in support of the global initiatives for research to prevent the spread and impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

The university said it has developed five technologies/products including ICU on-wheels; low-cost ventilator; DentiSafe; multimode air sanitizer; and hand-held UV surface sanitizer.

The new safety devices were launched here on Friday in the presence of Shivarathri Deshikendra Swami of Suttur Mutt, Minister in-charge of Mysuru district S.T. Somashekar, Minister for Large and Medium Industries Jagadish Shettar and Minister for Urban Development B.A. Basavaraj.

The ICU on-wheels ensure the isolation and ICU facility in remote sites of disaster and supports the golden hour of treatment – be it pandemics or disasters. The facility can be made available at home. The approximate cost of this set-up at the present development stage is about ₹4 lakh and the cost will get reduced in large-scale manufacture, a press release from the university said.

The low-cost ventilator is a portable device with adjustable tidal volume and provides positive-end expiratory pressure (PEEP) “which is not apparently found in other low-cost ventilators”. The cost of this ventilator is ₹30,000 and can be reduced further, according to the research team.

DentiSafe is an application to ensure the practice of dentistry safe for both patients and dentists. The application is a mobile device developed to sterilise dental chairs and treatment areas in less than 20 minutes using a non-chemical intervention and relies on the specific wavelength of UV light for safety. The approximate cost of the device is ₹30,000 and can be reduced in large-scale manufacture, the release stated.

“The multimode air sanitizer has a three-step sanitisation process – UV treatment at a specific wavelength to kill the virus; ionisation that kills all microbes, including virus; and lastly a HEPA filter that reduces the particulate matter in the air. The cost of the device is ₹4,500 which can be reduced further if produced in bulk,” the release said.

The University Registrar said lithium-ion battery-operated hand-held UV surface sanitizer device uses UV radiation for sanitising small surfaces frequently used by others such as lift buttons, keyboards etc. This sanitizer can be carried by individuals in their pockets. The cost of the device is ₹1,250 and can be reduced further on bulk production.

The release said JSSAHER will continue to work on these technologies and make them more cost-effective, robust, and highly efficient.

The JSSAHER has thanked Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swami for his support to develop the technologies besides C.G. Betsurmath, Executive Secretary; B. Suresh, Pro-Chancellor; and Surinder Singh, Vice-Chancellor. The research team is led by S. Balasubramanian, Director-Research.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – May 08th, 2020

Reva varsity unveils affordable ventilator

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Addressing the shortage of ventilators in the country, the Bengaluru-based Reva University has launched ‘Jeeva Setu’ — an affordable medical ventilator.

According to Chancellor of Reva University P Shyama Raju, the ventilator is the university’s contribution to help the fight against coronavirus.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to the scientific community to work on innovative modes of building scientific power and support, a team of faculty members at Reva University got together an affordable model of medical ventilator — Jeeva Setu.

The launch of Jeeva Setu proves the strength of the university and its capacity for innovation in a short period, the university officials said.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City> Top Bengaluru Stories / by DHNS, Bengaluru / April 28th, 2020

Mysuru-Born UK Doctor Gets Accolades In COVID-19 Fightback

Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

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Indian doctors have often been referred to as the backbone of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), with an estimated 60,000 medics from India working for the State-funded health service.

It is doctors like Mysuru-origin Sankeerthana Subramaniam who are the ones leading the fight against COVID-19. The frontline in this war has a few thousand doctors of Indian origin. Some of these people were born in India but migrated in search of the UK dream after completing professional education.

They still have strong family connections in the country of their birth. And, naturally, they have to share the risks associated with their profession. Dr. Sankeerthana Subramaniam has come to the limelight at the Torbay Hospital, South Devon’s main hospital, managed by the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. She has treated many COVID-19 patients and has got appreciation from both patients and her team of senior doctors.

Over the past few decades, thousands of Indian doctors and nurses have moved to the UK. They serve in remote areas where British doctors refuse to go. Second and third-generation doctors of Indian origin here have specialised in key areas such as emergency medicine and pulmonary diseases. They are now at the frontline of treating the COVID-19 pandemic in hospitals even in remote areas.

Agrarian roots

Dr. Sankeerthana is the daughter of Shivasubramaniam and Vasanthi who have an agrarian background. The couple resides in K.Hemmanahalli village near Bogadi in Mysuru Taluk. The family still depends on agricultural income for sustenance. Dr. Sankeerthana completed her MBBS in 2015 from JSS Medical College, Mysuru and worked at the JSS Hospital till 2017.

Later she migrated to the United Kingdom and joined Torbay Hospital. After the COVID-19 pandemic, Devon has emerged as the worst affected area for the Coronavirus outbreak. Devon and Torbay Councils have reported hundreds of deaths and thousands of patients in intensive care units at many hospitals and healthcare units.

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 Professionalism and commitment

Doctors at Torbay Hospital are fighting a relentless battle against the killer virus. “There is a lockdown till the end of May and there is a sense of fear among people here. Our team has been following professionalism and commitment to this noble profession and we have been saving lives and I am proud to do this service,” Dr. Sankeerthana told ‘Star of Mysore’ over phone from her hospital.

On the attacks on doctors and healthcare workers in India, she said, “I have seen on TV and have read in newspapers that doctors are being attacked in India and patients are showing unruly behaviour in hospitals. This is sad. Doctors, especially Indian doctors, have great respect in foreign soils like in the UK and the USA. It is very unfortunate that they are treated shabbily and their lives are threatened in their own country.”

Concerned parents

During the course of conversation, Dr. Sankeerthana said that her parents are concerned about her health and well-being. “Every day my mother Vasanthi calls me and asks me to take care. She is worried and asks about the work environment,” she said.

Dr. Sankeerthana stays at a distance of 9 kilometres from the hospital. “For doctors and nurses who stay far, the hospital has provided daily transport and accommodation. Sometimes I work for 8 hours and sometimes it stretches to 16 hours. All the doctors and healthcare staff have to compulsorily take a shower inside the hospital and then leave to their homes,” she says.

United as a team

“We work as a united team here and there is no barrier of nationalities and seniorities. We constantly exchange ideas and discuss always with an ultimate aim to make the patient comfortable,” she says.

Back in Mysuru, her teachers recall that Dr. Sankeerthana was a studious girl. “She was my student in PUC at De Paul International Residential School and Junior College. I am proud of her achievement and it is a matter of honour for all of us,” said Dr. Mamatha Sathyanarayana, a faculty at De Paul.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Covid-19 Feature Articles / by M.Y. Yogesh Kumar / May 04th, 2020

Bengaluru researchers eye static electric masks to repel COVID-19

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One of the researchers told TNIE that as a virus has a negative-charge surface, and as the outer layer of the mask also gets negatively charged, the virus repels.

A tailor makes protective masks. (Photo | BP Deepu, EPS)
A tailor makes protective masks. (Photo | BP Deepu, EPS)

Bengaluru :

A group of scientists from Bengaluru-based Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) have proposed using static electricity (Triboelectricity) to make COVID-19 masks more effective.

One of the researchers told TNIE that as a virus has a negative-charge surface, and as the outer layer of the mask also gets negatively charged, the virus repels.

One has to vigorously rub the mask, made out of non-woven polypropylene cloth (a material used often as grocery store bags), with nylon or silk or wool cloth to create the electrostatic energy.

However, this proposal is based on theories and are yet to be tested in laboratories.

The team of Dr Pralay Santra, Dr Ashutosh Singh, and Prof Giridhar U Kulkarni from CeNS has developed a simple three-layered face mask that holds electric charges to restrict the entry of infections.

It uses no external electricity and is called ‘Tribo E mask’ (derived from Triboelectricity).

It can be stitched at home with just a nylon/silk/woollen cloth placed between polypropylene layers.

The outer layer of the three-layered mask, when rubbed together, develops negative charge while nylon holds a positive charge, say the researchers, thereby creating double-electric-wall protection against viruses.

The cloth mask is washable. It reduces dependence on surgical and other technical quality masks. The mask is expected to reduce transmission of micro-droplets that linger in the air, the researchers explained.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Pearl Maria D’Souza / Express News Service / May 04th, 2020

Hubballi students develop automatic sanitiser dispenser

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology
Students of KLE Technological University handing over an automatic sanitiser dispenser to KIMS Director Ramalinga Antaratani. | Photo Credit: Kiran Bakale
Students of KLE Technological University handing over an automatic sanitiser dispenser to KIMS Director Ramalinga Antaratani. | Photo Credit: Kiran Bakale

At a time when the use of sanitisers has become crucial, Hubballi-based engineering students have developed an automatic sanitiser dispenser unit to help those engaged in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Authorities emphasise using masks and social distancing to help fight the infection, but equally important is the use of sanitisers regularly.

However as holding the bottle of sanitiser itself has become a bit risky, the engineering students from KLE Technological University, Hubballi, have devised a simple technique to make it automatic.

Karthik V.R., Abhilash G., Vinayak, Praveen, Santosh and Abilash K. have designed the automatic sanitiser dispenser unit which is sensor-based.

The students said that as it would be difficult for doctors and nurses, serving in isolation wards to use the sanitiser without touching the bottle, they thought of developing an automatich dispenser.

As the new unit operates on sensor, the doctors and nurses will not have to touch or press it. They place their hand below the nozzle and the unit will automatically dispense a stipulated amount of the sanitiser, they said.

The students were guided by Ravi Guttal of KLE Technological University and S.V. Mulkimath of KIMS.

The students recently handed over the sanitiser unit to Director of KIMS Ramalingappa Antaratani for use at the KIMS isolation ward. Minister for Large and Medium Industries Jagadish Shettar and Deputy Commisioner of Dharwad Deepa M. have lauded the students’ innovation.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Hubbali – May 02nd, 2020

Bengaluru-based doc invited to help UK manage corona crisis

Science & Technology, Uncategorized, World Opinion

An MBBS graduate from Bangalore Medical College, she went to the UK in 2002 for her post-graduate degree and has lived there for 15 years.

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Bengaluru :

A Bengaluru-based doctor is getting ready to leave for the UK after the government of that country gave a call for doctors to help the nation manage the COVID crisis and also sent a personal email to her. Dr Roopa Venkatesh, who has a UK residence permit and the licence to practice as a general practitioner there, is making plans to leave for the UK with her 13-year-old son Skanda, who wants to work there as a volunteer.

The Regional Passport Office is viewing this as a special case and is renewing her passport in a very short period. She will travel via any of the special flights that the UK government is organising. Roopa has been living in Bengaluru since July 2016 and has plans to open her own clinic. She lives in Rajarajeshwari Nagar with her husband Venkatesh, also a doctor with a license to practise in the UK. The couple has another son who is eight years old and a three-year-old daughter.

An MBBS graduate from Bangalore Medical College, she went to the UK in 2002 for her post-graduate degree and has lived there for 15 years. “With my years of experience as a frontline staffer in UK hospitals, I really think I can contribute much right now. So I have taken this tough decision to leave. I will not be recklessly risking myself though.

There is a huge demand for experienced staff on the teleconsultation front too and I have decided to opt for that role. It will not involve face to face meeting with patients,” Dr Roopa told The New Indian Express.
She has treated countless swine flu patients as well as victims of chemical warfare during the Iran-Iraq war in the UK. The UK wants her to work there until September at least.

Regional Passport Officer Bharat Kumar Kuthati said, “Her passport was to expire in July. She submitted her completed application on Monday. Though we are not dealing with public requests, we are doing it for her as a special case bearing in mind the emergency involved in her trip. It will be given to her in a day or two.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by S Lalitha / Express News Service / May 01st, 2020

Passion at work

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Once the youngest CEO in the world, Bengaluru boy Suhas Gopinath tells CE how he’s had to be “shamelessly aggressive” to reach where he has.

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Bengaluru :

If you believe in something, chase it. That’ what Suhas Gopinath believes in. The 33-year-old is the CEO and chairman of Globals Inc., an IT multinational that is into development of mobile and cloud-based applications, and cybersecurity products. He became a part of the corporate world at the age of 14, three years after which he became the CEO of the company he set up, thereby getting the moniker of being the ‘world’s youngest CEO’.

Putting his belief into practice, Gopinath recalls running after Bill Gates at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2010. “I saw him heading towards the restroom and realised that an encounter there would be my only chance to meet him. He gave me a piece of advice that I often go back to today as well: The past is a thief, if you allow it, it will steal your present and future,” he says. Other instances include an orchestrated appointment with an IAS officer, by requesting their PA for the officer’s flight number, which he then booked a ticket for as well. “As introverted as I am in my personal life, that’s how ‘shamelessly aggressive’ I am in my professional endeavours,” he admits.

His age has always been a talking point, raising eyebrows even to this day. Remarks about a boy who didn’t even have a moustache but was running his own company was something he often heard. “Even when I was in my mid-20s  and would meet policy makers, they would want to meet the CEO. And when I’d tell them it was me, they would ask to meet my father,” he says, adding that the whole start-up ecosystem and the idea of entrepreneurship is changing now. “Entrepreneurship wasn’t considered cool back in the day, unlike the way it is now,” he says.

Gopinath’s interest in the world of technology started as a young boy who would accompany his brother to the cyber cafe. While peers would often be seen playing games and understanding the concept of e-mails, Gopinath wondered why he couldn’t develop “something like Hotmail,” and would wonder why he couldn’t be a contributor instead of a consumer.

So he’d spend time on groups for developers (something along the lines of Yahoo chat groups) where he would discuss the nuances of technology with people from around the world. “One of those times, a person in the US asked if I would join his company and he  was quite taken aback that so far, he had been in conversation with someone who was barely in high school,” he recalls, adding that parents of his friends would often advise his parents that their son should concentrate on school work rather than his “hobby club”.

But he firmly felt he had to do what he had to do, and has no regrets for the way his life has panned out. But realising that he missed a part of his growing years – learning an instrument, playing a sport – he has taken to picking up those skills now. “And whenever time permits, I watch cartoons like Popeye, Mickey Mouse, Lion King and Aladdin, all of which I now realise have so many underlying meanings,” he says, adding that the lockdown has taught him cooking and cocktail making as well.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Vidya Iyengar / Express News Services / April 30th, 2020

Dose of duty

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Donning Personal Protective Equipment, a typical day lasted from 9am to 5pm with a lunch break nearly towards the close of his duty.

Dr Ishan Capoor
Dr Ishan Capoor

Bengaluru :

When Dr Ishan Capoor signed up for an MD in respiratory medicine, he couldn’t have imagined that he would be one of the medical professionals at the frontline when the world is confronted with a pandemic. “I wanted to be part of this and help in whatever small way,” says the 32-year-old consultant pulmonologist with Narayana Health, who is now in quarantine. Over the last week, Capoor was stationed at the OPD, screening 20-25 patients daily, with some showing COVID-19 symptoms. “The process was streamlined and based on the symptoms, doctors took a call on the next course of action,” he says.

Donning Personal Protective Equipment, a typical day lasted from 9am to 5pm with a lunch break nearly towards the close of his duty. With the PPE come a host of challenges, including going long hours without a restroom break. But those were not concerns for Capoor, who was prepared mentally. His parents were supportive too. “I discussed it with them, and they stood by my decision,” he says.

With the virus being asymptomatic, Capoor says you never know what’s coming your way. “But that doesn’t mean that I was really worried at any point. It’s important to stay engaged mentally,” says the doctor who has been staying at the hospital since he started screening patients. He will do so for the next two weeks when his self-quarantine concludes.

Now, Capoor has one piece of advice to stay calm: Switch off, and don’t overthink.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Vidya Iyengar / Express News Service / April 29th, 2020

Students bag $5K for COVID-19 diagnostic tool

Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

At a time hospitals are overcrowded with patients getting tested for COIVD-19, there’s fear of contracting the virus right at the corridors of the hospital.

Bengaluru :

At a time hospitals are overcrowded with patients getting tested for COIVD-19, there’s fear of contracting the virus right at the corridors of the hospital. Six students from Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) had the answer which got them the second prize at the recently-concluded CODE19 online hackathon. The 72-hour hackathon, revolving around the pandemic, was hosted by the Silicon Valley-based Motwani Jadeja Family Foundation. Jithin Sunny, Joel Jogy George, Rohan Rout, Rakshit Naidu, Megha Baid and Shivangi Shukla bagged $5,000 for their solution, TeleVital, which captures a patient’s vital statistics (heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature) remotely through a web cam and browser.

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“After consulting doctors, we realised that vital statistics are the deciding factor if a patient needs hospitalisation,” says Sunny, adding that they built a system to check if a person is a virus carrier through their AI-based chatbot, which checks travel history and other symptoms.

The winning entry was of Abhinand C and Shilpa Rajeev from Government College of Engineering,Kannur, who bagged $10,000 for the idea involving a modern virtual classroom. Called iClassroom, it connects students with teachers through a social media-type interface. “It makes learning easier,” says Abhinand.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / April 28th, 2020

COVID-19 app by Mysuru man wins laurels in US

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Apollo, an iPhone app for COVID-19 testing and research, has been developed by a company headed by a native of Mysuru, Siddarth Satish.

CEO of Gauss Surgical, Siddarth Satish
CEO of Gauss Surgical, Siddarth Satish

CEO of Gauss Surgical, Siddarth Satish, is the grandson of Mysuru-based industrialist and art patron K V Murthy. He is the son of Padma (second daughter of Murthy) and M N Satish, who have settled in the USA. Siddarth resides in California.

Dr Prathibha Pereira, his aunt, said that Siddarth studied up to second standard at St Joseph’s School in Jayalakshmipuram. He is an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley (BS in Chemical Engineering); the University of California, San Francisco (MS in Bioengineering); and Stanford University (SIMDesign Fellow).

Siddarth founded Gauss Surgical in 2011 and served as CTO and chairman initially. He then served as an Entrepreneur In Residence at StartX, Stanford’s Startup Accelerator, and as a SIMdesign Fellow at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He has over 50 issued or pending patents on medical technologies and has raised $50 million in venture capital funding.

As leaders in the healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) space, Siddarth and his team wanted to help during the COVID-19 crisis and quickly began collaborating with researchers at Stanford and observing COVID-19 testing facilities in the Bay Area.

After spending time embedded at a testing facility, Siddarth said, he found the current testing process to be heavily paper-based and observed that it exposed testers to potential risks as they interacted closely with patients.

“An iPhone-based testing solution could reduce the exposure to risk at testing centers and make the overall process much faster. The app optimises the existing testing procedures by eliminating paperwork, reducing the need for direct contact between patients and staff. This also helps to reduce the use of precious PPE resources,” he said.

Design Award  

Gauss Surgical’s life-saving Triton App, which monitors surgical bleeding using iPhones, had earlier won the Apple Design Award, which reflects the best in design, innovation, and technology on Apple platforms.

“We embarked on Apollo, as we felt that our expertise in clinical-grade digital decision-support tools enables us to build a tool for screening and triage of Covid-19. We teamed up with Evive Care, a national database of COVID-19 test centers to  develop the app, which includes Stanford Medicine’s Apollo Covid-19 Screening Survey (Apollo Study),” said Siddarth.

Gauss is among a large group of Stanford alumni, scientists, and physicians participating in the StartX Med COVID-19  Task Force.

Apollo integrates tools that work across the current testing process. It is designed so that a person can analyse one’s symptoms and if necessary, drive to the closest testing centre. A tool locates one’s closest available testing centre on a map. It has tools for communication between the tester and tested.

The self-diagnostic checks whether the potential patient has already transacted and then send the report via the app to the testing agent, reducing duplication of the same process. The data is available in the form of a QR code (the ‘Apollo Pass’) on the screen of the patient’s iPhone, which is read by the equivalent app on the tester’s smartphone. The patients can share their information while the car windows remain shut, minimising contact time with the tester.

Once the patient sample is collected, the tester adds the kit to Apollo and sends the sample to test. Results can be quickly shared, once the procedure is completed.  Apollo COVID-19 is available in 10 languages, most commonly spoken in the United States. The app can be downloaded for free on the Apple App Store or at https://covid19.gauss.com.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mysuru / by T R Satish Kumar, DHNS, Mysuru / April 27th, 2020