(L-R) The trio of Pewang T Konyak, Zenwang Konyak and Tingthom Konyak from Nangtan in Tizit circle of Mon district has built a Double Supply Ventilator, designed to provide positive pressure to patients in case of emergencies.
Morung Express News
Kohima | June 13
Young Scientist Zenwang Konyak along with 18 years old Pewang T Konyak and 17 years old Tingthom Konyak has developed a Double Supply Ventilator, designed to provide positive pressure to patients in case of emergency.
The trio has been working meticulously for the last three weeks to develop the prototype from their village Nangtan in Mon district with limited materials.
"We made the machine with a saw, pipe, hammer, wiper motor, discarded electronic parts. Our condition was really bad that instead of nuts and bolts we had to tie it with binding wire. It was that hard," narrates Zenwang.
The need to develop the Double Supply Ventilator for the trio emerged out of the current COVID-19 pandemic, and the rarity of ventilators in Nagaland. "We were worried about what could be done in case of emergency. The place where we are living, we don't have all those facilities. Since we live in villages with no proper hospitals nearby and the chances of getting infected might be high, that drove us into solving this puzzle," says Zenwang. The nearest Community Health Center for Nangtan village, under Tizit circle, is 10 kms away.
In the absence of an oxygen cylinder and resuscitator, the machine will come into use, explains Zenwang.
"To design this ventilator we took three points into consideration: Presence or absence of ventilator in hospitals, oxygen tank, bag valve mask or resuscitator. Based on these points our machine is adjusted to perform its function i.e. suppose, in a remote place with no ventilator, no oxygen Tank and no resuscitator, then our current machine comes into play. Our current machine is for such situations,” explains Zenwang.
He adds that a resuscitator can be attached to their ventilators tank and pump air from an oxygen tank or normal air.
Developing the ventilator has been a challenging task for the young innovators with the complete lockdown in Mon and the lack of resources. The trio learned to build the machine by experimentation, where they "tried many things fixing and adjusting until the innovation satisfied us".
"Not having the required tools to work with was quite challenging! And also because of the lock down, we can't cross the border to nearby Assam to buy parts we need," says Zenwang.
The trio had almost thought of giving up in making the prototype, however, villagers came to their rescue by helping them acquire parts, while some even lent their tools.
Building the ventilator has been a first project for Tingthom Konyak and Pewang T Konyak who work and study under the mentorship of Zenwang.
"Within these three weeks, I have experienced how to contribute my little knowledge in innovating such kind of machines during this pandemic," says Tingthom. For Pewang, an important lesson learned during the three weeks project has been the essence of being an asset to one's society.
"Innovating something new interests me. And Zenwang always tells me that even nuts and bolts place a very important role in innovation," remarks Pewang.
Zenwang is currently pursuing his M. Sc at Nagaland University Lumami while Pewang is in Standard 10 at Holy Angels School Tizit Town and Tingthom Konyak is a Standard 10 student at Don Bosco School, Tizit Village.
The trio hopes to upgrade their machine and run a trial test in a hospital once the lock down is relaxed.
