Amrita Hospitals and AMMACHI Labs develop low-cost PAPR kits for frontline workers

These Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) kits are superior to regular PPE being low cost, low weight and having higher flow. A usability study with 20 PAPR kits is underway  at AIMS

Doctors at Amrita Hospitals, in collaboration with AMMACHI Labs, the academic and research centre at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, have developed cost-effective Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) kits for frontline workers. The kits are also a step towards realising the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat in the healthcare sector, a statement said.

It added that the two institutions launched the product jointly in January this year.

The statement claimed that PAPR, a protection equipment technology used for supplying purified air to medical professionals working in infection-prone areas such as COVID wards, are valuable in preventing them from contracting infection and disease from the aerosolised virus particles. PAPRs are generally more comfortable to use, safer and reusable, as compared to normal PPE with N95 masks. Because of their exorbitant costs, they haven’t been widely used in developing countries like India.

Till recently, all the PAPRs in the country were imported at a price of over Rs 1 lakh each, according to the statement.

Dr Bhavani Rao R, Director, AMMACHI Labs, who is overseeing the entire project, said, “PAPRs have been inspired by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi or Amma’s vision……The product has been developed by the initiative of scientists, doctors and engineers from several Amrita institutions coming together for one single cause – dealing with the pandemic with cutting-edge and social innovations. PAPRs have the potential to help people not just in the medical field, but from all walks of life, thereby creating a tangible impact on society. Once all the feedback and design improvements have been incorporated, our PAPRs will be productised and marketed by Omnex Inc. Unlike commercial PAPRs costing anywhere between Rs 70,000 – Rs 1,50,000, our PAPR will cost less than Rs 30,000 per kit.”

Further commenting on the product roll out strategies, Arun Kumar, Vice President, Omnex Global said, “Omnex Inc. has planned a usability study with 20 PAPRs by medical professionals at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS). Based on the feedback from medical professionals, the product will be fine-tuned and scaled up for production. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and Omnex Inc. will also be applying for certifications for the PAPR product. Currently, work is in progress for gathering data for pre-certification testing requirements for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) approval for the US markets. We are also exploring requirements for field testing in an accredited lab of the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).”