Category Archives: Science & Technologies

IIT-Madras startup creating textile with antimicrobial material to tackle coronavirus

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The coated textiles can be primarily used to manufacture N95 masks, surgical masks, PPE and food packaging bags, among others, with inherent properties of inactivating the virus.

A petrol pump employee wearing personal protective equipment PPE kit at a fuel filling station in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo | Shekhar Yadav/EPS)
A petrol pump employee wearing personal protective equipment PPE kit at a fuel filling station in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo | Shekhar Yadav/EPS)

Chennai :

An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras-incubated startup Muse Wearables is developing novel and scalable methods for coating textiles with nanoparticles-based antimicrobial agents that can inactivate the human coronavirus on contact, the Institute said on Monday.

These coatings are expected to be effective up to 60 wash cycles, thereby making the textiles re-usable.

The coated textiles can be primarily used to manufacture N95 masks, surgical masks, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and food packaging bags, among others, with inherent properties of inactivating the virus.

According to the Institute, Muse Wearables’ current pilot machine can coat textiles of length up to 100 metres within a few minutes, thereby making it a viable commercial solution that can be deployed immediately.

Muse Wearables was incubated by IIT Madras Incubation Cell.

“They have quickly mobilised and repurposed their offerings in response to the situation and are striving to make a positive contribution to the nation’s anti-virus efforts,” Dr Tamaswati Ghosh, Chief Executive Officer, IIT Madras Incubation Cell, said in a statement.

Some highlights of these nano-particles coated textiles include, anti-microbial properties — it continuously captures and destroys viruses and other microbes upon contact. Other viruses are as small as 30 nanometres can also be inactivated permanently.

It does not leach while washing in water and is environment-friendly. At present, the particles can be coated on materials like cotton, polyester and cotton – polyester. More fabrics will be tested soon.

It is non-toxic and therefore can be safely used for making masks and other PPEs, the Insititute.

Currently, the startup is assembling the coating machine and will shortly commence coating various textiles with different nanoparticle solutions.

Their coated textiles are expected to be ready for testing by the first week of May 2020. The start-up is also partnering with a mask manufacturing company to launch five-layered Antiviral N95 Masks at an estimated price of Rs 300 per piece.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by IANS / May 04th, 2020

IIT-M professor Pradeep wins Nikkei Asia Prize

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Pradeep was recently conferred with Padma Shri by the country.

Chennai :

IIT-Madras professor T Pradeep has been honoured with the Nikkei Asia Prizes-2020 in the ‘Science and Technology’ category for his pioneering work on nanotechnology-based water purification, a statement from the institute said.

Pradeep was recently conferred with Padma Shri by the country.

The Nikkei Asia Prizes are conferred on individuals who have contributed to the region’s sustainable development and to creation of a better future in Asia.

The prizes are awarded annually in three categories – economic and business innovation, science and technology, and culture and community.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / May 03rd, 2020

Villupuram college student creates ‘smart stethoscope’

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The invention had won first prize at a university-level exhibition for bio-based equipment last month.

Srinath displaying the working model of his smart stethoscope
Srinath displaying the working model of his smart stethoscope

Villipuram :

A first year engineering student from Tindivanam has invented an equipment that could help the doctors in treating patients from a distance, avoiding the danger of getting infected themselves.
M Srinath invented the ‘smart stethoscope’ as part of his academic project at Mailam Engineering college.
The invention had won first prize at a university-level exhibition for bio-based equipment last month.

“With the stethoscope that I have made, doctors can check temperature and pulse of a patient from a safe distance.

The equipment is of high quality though it doesn’t cost much, and it can last for long with battery support. The patient can wear this equipment like a watch and through artificial intelligence, the required readings will appear on a device with the doctor even if the patient is 500 metres away,” Srinath told Express.

source:  http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Bagalavan Perier B / Express News Service / April 29th, 2020

Touch-free hand washing system developed

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The regional centre of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Central Institute of Agri Engineering has developed a touch-free hand wash system and portable touch-free hand sanitiser that can be installed at hospitals, markets, malls offices and industries.

According to a press release, the hand wash system has a water tank, photo diffuser sensor, water pump, speed regulator, battery, relay board and touch-free hand sanitiser dispensing unit. When the hand reaches near the sensor, it triggers the pump to turn on. Liquid soap / water goes to the tap. The discharge rate of water and soap can be regulated. This can be run on AC current and there is provision to run it on DC battery. There is also provision to attach solar energy panel.

The hand sanitiser dispenser is a stand-alone unit and a sensor is located near the outlet of sanitiser dispensing bottle.

Details of the products are available at the regional centre on Veerakeralam road.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore – April 28th, 2020

Breast milk bank at CMCH a haven for newborns during lockdown

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However, sources claim it has become difficult to procure milk from new mothers from Coimbatore and Tirupur districts due to the lockdown as vehicle movement has come to a standstill.

A newborn being fed milk from the human milk bank at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital | Express
A newborn being fed milk from the human milk bank at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital | Express

Coimbatore :

No mother would want to experience the pain of being separated from her child, especially right after they give birth. However, due to the unusual situation that prevails, women from containment zones who delivered babies at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) are separated from their newborns until they test negative for COVID-19.

This measure has been undertaken to ensure that the newborns are not infected, even as the World Health Organization (WHO) permits new mothers infected with COVID-19 to breastfeed their babies.

The babies are fed milk from the human milk bank at the hospital. The milk bank has proven to be a haven for low-birth-weight babies since its inception in 2015.

Sources said, around 190 low-birth-weight babies in March and 123 babies in April (until 27) have benefited from the milk bank.

CMCH Neonatologist P Senthil Kumar said, “An asymptomatic mother hailing from a containment zone could later develop flu-like symptoms. Thus, we want to make sure that the mothers test negative for COVID-19 before breastfeeding their newborns. If or when the health condition of the mother does not allow her to breastfeed the baby, he or she is given milk from the milk bank.”

Between January and March, about 407 mothers have donated breast milk to the hospital, through which nearly 1,344 babies benefitted, said higher officials from the Department of Pediatrics (Newborn unit).

Another official said the breast milk, donated by volunteers, undergoes bacterial examination multiple times before it is pasteurised at the milk bank.

However, sources claim it has become difficult to procure milk from new mothers from Coimbatore and Tirupur districts due to the lockdown as vehicle movement has come to a standstill.

The usual practice is that lactating mothers store breast milk in containers or storage packs and earlier, they would drop the packets at collection points, from where they would be brought to CMCH.

Amirtham Breast Milk Donation Drive Founder Roopa Selvanayaki (28) said there are around 600 mothers in Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode who are donating breast milk to the milk bank at CMCH.

Roopa said, “As we cannot commute during the lockdown, I coordinated with the mothers from various localities. Then, Neonatologist Senthil picked up the containers from the mothers.”

Besides, Roopa said milk secretion in lactating mothers will not reduce if they donate.

A WhatsApp group comprising of lactating mothers has been formed in order to constantly motivate them to donate breast milk, she added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Deepak Sathish / Express News Service / April 28th, 2020

IIT Madras alumnus appointed to National Science Board in USA

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Three of the institute’s alumni are currently on the Board

Sudarsan Babu, a 1988 graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras was appointed to the National Science Board in United States of America on Monday. He is the third alumnus from the IIT-M to currently occupy the Board. The members are appointed for a period of six years.

Mr. Babu completed B.Tech from PSG College of Technology and graduated with M. Tech in Metullurgical and Materials engineering at the IIT Madras in 1988.

The other two alumni are Sethuraman Panchanathan and Suresh V Garimella. Mr. Sethuraman is tipped to become the director of another prestigious institution the National Science Foundation. One of his predecessors is Subra Suresh, another alumnus of the institute, who is currently the president of Nanyang Technological University.

Mr. Sethuraman completed M.Tech in electrical engineering in 1986. Mr. Garimella graduated in 1985 in B.Tech mechanical engineering.

Institute director Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, “Our alumni have done us proud in India and abroad and have been a great pillar of support to their alma mater.”

“Having three alumni on the Board is a first for the institution. It speaks of the academic research culture that we had established even a long time ago and continue to foster. This is a direct validation of the institution’s ecosystem as a whole, as a research institution going back to the early eighties. All of these people we talk about today were students here in the mid-80s. The ecosystem has created these superstars and we have continued to grow from strength to strength. That is in essence why we talk about these achievements,” said Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean of International and Alumni Relations, adding that the alumni were “deeply involved in advising the institute in its activities.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by R. Sujatha / Chennai – April 21st, 2020

Coronavirus | Ex-panchayat chief from Tiruvallur designs low-cost method to produce disinfectant

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technologies
Mr. Elango, a chemical engineer by qualification, has designed the unit in two different capacities, a 25-litre barrel and a 210-litre barrel. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Mr. Elango, a chemical engineer by qualification, has designed the unit in two different capacities, a 25-litre barrel and a 210-litre barrel. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

R. Elango, a former scientist at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), shows how to make sodium hypochlorite using solar power.

R. Elango, a former scientist at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), who later served as the president of Kuthambakkam panchayat in Tiruvallur district, has come up with a design to manufacture sodium hypochlorite using solar power in a decentralised manner.

Considering that sodium hypochlorite is the disinfectant widely used in various concentrations depending on the purpose, he says the design can be used to meet the current surge in demand for the disinfectant in the fight against COVID-19.

“Right from floor cleaners and toilet cleaners to sprays used widely now for disinfecting public places is sodium hypochlorite, which is the mother of all disinfectants. It is commonly manufactured in industries through electrolysis,” he says. Explaining the process, Mr. Elango, who is a chemical engineer by qualification, says sodium hypochlorite is made in industries by the simple process of passing electricity through titanium electrodes immersed in sodium chloride (salt) solution.

High demand for disinfectants

Mr. Elango replaced the conventional source of electricity with a 1 kilowatt capacity solar panel. With the high demand for disinfectants, he highlights that the conservation of non-renewable power would be huge.

“In a barrel fitted with the electrodes, one has to fill salt water solution in high concentration and pass the solar-generated power. In about eight hours, you can get sodium hypochlorite from a tap attached to the barrel.” For now, he has designed the unit in two different capacities of a 25-litre barrel and a 210-litre barrel. 25 litres of sodium hypochlorite can be diluted to 100 litres for disinfecting drainages, to 150 litres for floor cleaning and to 500 litres for applications like cleaning utensils, he claims.

These units can be easily set up in open at the village or town-level to meet the local demand. “It is a completely safe process. The electricity used is of very low voltage. There is absolutely no byproduct or other waste that needs to be handled,” he says.

Steep initial costs

According to him, while the 25-litre capacity unit will cost about ₹ 60,000 to set up, the 210-litre capacity will cost around four to five times more. V.P. Jayakumar, managing director of Tiaano, a chemical company, who helped Mr. Elango in assembling the electrodes in the unit, said excluding the initial cost to set up the unit, one litre of sodium hypochlorite can be produced at a cost of 0.05 paise. “This is inclusive of employing a person for ₹500 per day. The input will just be 750 g of salt in 25 l of water for one cycle.”

“Floor cleaners we buy from supermarkets cost around ₹85 for just 300 ml,” he adds. Mr. Elango says it can also become a business model for villages to generate revenue. Mageswari Ravikumar, Collector, Tiruvallur, who inspected the design, says the district would soon set up a unit on an experimental basis.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Pon Vasanth B.A / Chennai – April 21st, 2020

Youth develops vehicle to help COVID-19 patients

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At a time when personal distancing is emphasised, reaching out to people in quarantine or persons who have tested positive for COVID-19 becomes a challenge. More so, because people fear contracting the virus from the positive persons.

V. Karthi demonstrating his remote-controlled vehicle at the Coimbatore Collectorate on Monday. | Photo Credit: M_PERIASAMY
V. Karthi demonstrating his remote-controlled vehicle at the Coimbatore Collectorate on Monday. | Photo Credit: M_PERIASAMY

To overcome the challenge, Vedappati resident V. Karthi seems to have a solution in his remote-controlled vehicle, which he showed to the district administration authorities and demonstrated to journalists at the Coimbatore Collectorate on Monday.

Mr. Karthi, an engineer, says he designed the vehicle over the last weekend with materials he had acquired while working over the years on various projects. His objective behind developing the vehicle is to help supply food, medicines or other items to people quarantined or persons who tested positive.

The vehicle will also help them chat over video call with doctors or family members when mobile phone is attached.

Built over four wheels with a circuit board and four batteries of 3v each, Mr. Karthi’s vehicle runs responding to commands given from mobile phone, through an app. A mobile phone or an internet dongle at the vehicle’s end passes on the commands to the circuit board.

After the demonstration, the officials said that he was free to take it to hospitals to see if they were interested, he adds.

Mr. Karthi says he is engaged in developing mobile apps and robotic projects.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore – April 20th, 2020

Hyundai ties up with Air Liquide to produce ventilators amid COVID-19 outbreak

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Hyundai and Air Liquide aim to achieve a target of 1000 ventilators in the first phase of production and scale up subsequently.

Chennai :

Hyundai Motor India (HMI) has entered into a partnership with Air Liquide Medical Systems (ALMS) to augment the production and supply of ICU ventilators in Tamil Nadu and other states amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Through this partnership, HMI and ALMS aim to achieve a target of 1000 ventilators in the first phase of production and scale up subsequently.

Ventilators are medical devices used by healthcare professionals to treat patients who are unable to breathe on their own by delivering air with a high concentration of oxygen to their lungs. For patients severely affected by COVID-19, ventilators are critical to ensure continuous oxygen is supplied to overcome respiratory insufficiency.

Commenting on the arrangement with ALMS, SS Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said, “Hyundai and Air Liquide Medical Systems are working together to ensure a steady supply of ventilators in India.”

Anil Kumar, managing director, ALMS India, said, “Air Liquide is one of the very few global companies with a dedicated research and development team to manufacture ventilators in India.”

“Air Liquide Medical Systems is employing all the resources available to manufacture innovative, easy-to use and high-performing ventilators and will hold the reins to deliver quality service across the country during this time of need and to spearhead the Make in India initiative,” a release stated.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / April 18th, 2020

COVID-19: IIT Madras students make face shields, give them to healthcare professionals, police

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The group has supplied around 25,000 shields so far and has an order for nearly 30,000 more

The shields were distributed to Home Guards on Saturday | Photo Credit: S.R. Raghunathan
The shields were distributed to Home Guards on Saturday | Photo Credit: S.R. Raghunathan

Four students from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, in collaboration with an entrepreneur, have developed face shields which have been provided to healthcare professionals and police personnel who come in direct contact with COVID-19 infected people.

The students initially used 3-D printing technology to develop the shields. Their effort was much appreciated and soon demand for the shields increased after which a Chennai-based company came to their help.

Now, the group has shifted to the injection moulding method to cater to the demand. “Now we make 4,000 pieces a day,” said Pranit Mehta, a third-year dual degree student of Engineering Design.

The other students are Hari Ramachandran, a fifth-year dual degree student of Metallurgy; Anuj Khandalikar, third-year dual degree student of Engineering Design and Denil Chawda from the M.S. Aerospace Engineering department. They were guided by a couple of alumni and Professor Satya Chakravarthy of the Aerospace Engineering department.

The group has supplied around 25,000 shields so far and has an order for nearly 30,000 shields. They have supplied to hospitals in Cuddalore, Puducherry and Kanniyakumari so far.

The students are currently helping units replicate their model in Delhi, Indore and Mumbai after they received requests for the shields. “It is a social impact project. We are giving the shields free of cost to the police and we are running a fund-raiser campaign. We have got donations from people now,” Pranit said.

The need for funds came up as the cost of the shields rose. “With 3-D printing it cost us ₹100 each, but with injection moulding it costs ₹60 per piece. It is a not-for-profit initiative. The more people we reach, the more the impact will be,” he said.

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An earlier version of this copy mentioned that the prices of 3D printing and injection mold incorrectly. The error is regretted.

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source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by R. Sujatha / Chennai – April 18th, 2020