Mumbai, May 18: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has devised a method to reuse oxygen exhaled by patients to overcome the shortage. The method will enhance the lifetime of oxygen cylinders used by COVID-19 patients. The prototype of a breathing device called "The reBreather" is designed by alumni, students and professors from the institute.

According to a report published in The Times of India, "The reBreather" facilitates recirculation of exhaled breath by removing carbon dioxide and adding fresh oxygen. The team which devised the prototype told the media house that the method would help in bringing down the usage of nine oxygen cylinders in a day for a critical patient to one or two. 1200 Oxygen Cylinders from UK Arrive in India.

"COVID-19 patients in intensive care can be given up to 50 litres of oxygen per minute, with only 1-1.5 litre being really utilised. Consequently, around 90% of oxygen is lost to the atmosphere. The bottled oxygen could be used efficiently in a closed (or semi-closed) loop system, which we have demonstrated using the rebreather," reported the media house quoting professor Santosh Noronha from the chemical engineering department at IIT-Bombay as saying. Karnataka: 4 COVID-19 Patients Die in Kalaburagi District, Families Allege Oxygen Shortage Behind Deaths.

The method will minimise the wastage of oxygen. A healthy person inhales around five litres of air per minute, out of which one litre is oxygen. Notably, the human body uses around 0.25 litre/minute of the gas which is consumed. The prototype devised by the team of IIT-Bombay is tested on healthy volunteers. However, clinical trials are still pending. It will cost around Rs 10,000.

India is facing an acute shortage of oxygen as the second wave of COVID-19 batters the country. Active coronavirus infections shot up in the country in the past two months, putting pressure on medical facilities. India's overall tally of COVID-19 cases now stands at 2,52,28,996 with 33,53,765 active cases and 2,78,719 deaths so far.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2021 02:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).