Hyderabad,  Hyderabad-based Apollo Computing Laboratories (ACL), a leading defence, aerospace design and development solutions provider, on Wednesday announced the unveiling of the indigenously-developed, portable non-invasive ventilator - the world's first of its kind.

The briefcase-sized SwasthVayu, weighing less than three kg, can be utilised in medical wards, make-shift hospitals, dispensaries, home healthcare operators and homes for treating Covid as well as non-Covid ailments like lung disease, sleep apnea, respiratory weakness etc.

ACL said SwasthVayu has been developed in collaboration with CSIR - National Aerospace Laboratories. The device which can mitigate the severe hardship being experienced by Covid-19 patients, has been certified for safety and performance by NABL accredited Labs, after undergoing stringent biomedical tests and beta clinical trials at NAL Health Centre, Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru, and many more hospitals in Hyderabad and across the nation.

SwasthVayu is also certified by Director General of Health Services (DGHS) of the Union Health & Family Welfare Ministry.

"The indigenously-developed SwasthVayu ventilator from Apollo Computing Laboratories is a reliable, secure and affordable option to address the problem being faced by the healthcare delivery system especially during these challenging times of Covid-19 spike," ACL Managing Director Baddam Jaipal Reddy said.

SwasthVayu delivers oxygen through a non-vented mask tightly fitted to the face, without a need for tracheal intubation or a tube being inserted through the mouth into the windpipe. This provides absolute safety to critical patients from any contamination, including viruses.

SwasthVayu has been designed with three layers of robust filtration mechanism, one each at the inlet, inter-stage and exhale stage to prevent inhaling or exhaling of aerosol and Corona droplets by the patients as well as healthcare personnel. The inlet HEPA filter, removes 99.99 per cent of particles of 0.3 micron size. The inter-stage and exhale stage have HME (Heat Moisture Exchanger) and BV (Bacterial and Viral) filters, which are meant to filter heat, moisture, and any remnants of bacteria and virus, thus protecting the patient.

The medical team treating the patient is safe as the exhale filter too filters any viruses like Covid-19 droplets exhaled by the patient. It has provision to change all the three filters and discard the contaminated ones, this is mandatory especially while using the ventilator for different patients.

SwasthVayu ventilator has been successfully tested on hundreds of Covid patients at the Command Hospital and the Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru, the Mysore Medical College Hospital, the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad and at several reputed private hospitals.

The initial 1,200 Swasthvayu ventilators, supplied to the top nine hospitals under the Delhi government, are being used effectively for treating Covid-19 patients. The product is receiving excellent response and gaining acceptance from state governments and corporate hospital chains.

ACL, with a capacity to produce over 6000 units of SwasthVayu Ventilators per month, is planning to set up a pan India dealer network to expand its reach to its customers.