Pakistani Students Won First Prize for Inventing Cheap Cost Ventilator at MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize Competition

A team of Pakistani students have invented a cheap cost but potent ventilator which will be worth $2,000 (Rs280, 000) which is way cheaper than modern day ventilator which is worth $15,000 (Rs2 million). The team has won first prize at MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize competition. It is certainly good news for Pakistanis who were deprived of this medical necessity due to affordability factor.

The team of Pakistani students comprises of Shaheer Piracha, Boston University , Sanchay Gupta, MIT alumni,  Harvard Medical School student, , Moiz Imam ’18, MIT mechanical engineering course student Abdurrahman Akkas ’18, , Wasay Anwer, Boston University student Rohan Jadeja, and Farzan Khan, who recently graduated from New York University Abu Dhabi.

While speaking at prize winning ceremony the students said, ‘Our device’s competitive advantage lies in the fact that we’ve balanced the accuracy and consistency of a traditional ventilator with the portability and affordability of an Ambu Bag. While speaking with Pakistani doctors and hospital administrators, they expressed a need for a device that is simple to operate, capable of remote monitoring, portable, and built using locally sourced material. All of those considerations have informed our [first iteration of this machine],” Shaheer Piracha (Boston University student) said. “Our device’s competitive advantage lies in the fact that we’ve balanced the accuracy and consistency of a traditional ventilator with the portability and affordability of an Ambu Bag’.

This machine will soon be launched in Pakistan. If it worked successfully then it will be launched in other countries of South Asian region. Talking about the design and structure of Umbulizer the team said they have dropped some physical parts of the machine which were not needed for its functionality making the cost cheap. The ventilator they have designed will serve 4 functions whereas the modern day ventilator serves 15 functions.  The 4 functions of ventilator are basic and fundamental and the other 11 functions are rarely used the students elaborated the audience.

The ventilator invented by students is quite different in its physical appearance as compared to regular ventilator. It looks more like a desktop printer. It is capable of running with batteries and it is portable to be taken anywhere.

An International Seminar on Buddhist and Gandhara Civilization to Be Held in Sri Lanka on 11^th March

The High Commission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and The Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka are collaborating to organize this international conference in Homagama, Sri Lanka on 11^th March. This international conference will be attended by prominent scholars of China, Pakistan, Germany and Sri Lanka according to press release.

The ancient history of Buddhism art and culture belongs to land of Pakistan. Pakistan’s land is origin of Buddhism and from here its development took place. Buddhism reached its religious climax at this land and then spread to other parts of the world. The attending scholars will shed light on this topic at the international conference.