Small in size but significant in advancement.

A toaster-sized ventilator is coming to the aid of patients battling COVID-19 in India.

AFP reported that the device was originally created by a robotics scientist and a neurosurgeon to help India’s poor, but now, it is being used to pump breathable air into COVID-19 patients.

The device called the AgVa ventilator was created by neurosurgeon Deepak Agarwal and robotics scientist Diwakar Vaish and costs around US$2,000 (RM8,716), which is way cheaper than other conventional ventilators.

The AgVa weighs just 3.5kgs, is portable and needs low power.

Just plug it in

“In case you want to convert a hotel into an ICU, you can simply use this device and start working as it doesn’t require other infrastructure,” said Vaish.

The duo said seeing people queue for life-support equipment at the All India Institute for Medical Science in Delhi in 2016 convinced them that there was an acute need for cheap and portable ventilators.