#FirstStoryPositive: Meet Nihaal Singh who invented 'Cool' PPE kit for covid warriors

Named 'Cov-Tech', the compact and frugal innovation is a ventilation system for PPE kits, bringing much-needed relief for healthcare workers

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It has been rightly said that necessity is the mother of invention. For the student innovator Nihaal Singh Adarsh from Mumbai, his doctor mother's necessity became the source of inspiration for his invention of a 'Cool' PPE kit.

Named 'Cov-Tech', the compact and frugal innovation is a ventilation system for PPE kits, bringing much-needed relief for healthcare workers on the frontlines of the Covid-19 battle.

A gratified Nihaal, a second-year student of K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, explained the experiential difference Cov-Tech makes to the Corona Warrior wearing the PPE.

"Cov-Tech ventilation system is like you are sitting under the fan even while you are inside the PPE suit. It takes the surrounding air, filters it and pushes it into the PPE suit," Nihaal said.

"Normally, due to lack of ventilation, it is hot and humid within the PPE suit. Our solution offers a way out of this uncomfortable experience, by creating a steady air flow inside."

The design of the ventilation system ensures a complete air seal from the PPE kit, Nihaal said, adding it provides a breeze of fresh air to the user in a gap of just 100 seconds.

Sharing detail why he invented the cooling PPE kit, Nihaal said he made it only to provide relief to her mother Dr Poonam Kaur Adarsh, who is a doctor and has been treating Covid-19 patients at Adarsh clinic, Pune, a clinic she herself runs.

"Every day after returning home, she would narrate the difficulty faced by those like her, who are having to wear PPE suits and get themselves drenched in sweat. How can I help her and others like her," the 19-year-old Nihaal thought.

The recognition of the problem led him to participate in a design challenge for Covid-related equipment, organized by Technological Business Incubator, Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory.

The design challenge led Nihaal to work on the first prototype. With guidance from Dr Ulhas Kharul of National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Nihaal was able to develop the first model in 20 days.

Also Read: Relief Riders from Chennai comes in rescue of vulnerable amid Covid crisis

Dr Ulhas runs a start-up which does research on a membrane to filter air, with the aim of preventing spread of Covid-19. From here, Nihaal got the idea about what type of filter he should use, in order to achieve an optimum balance between filtration efficiency and air flow quality.

Nihaal later got support from Somaiya Vidyavihar University's Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory (RIIDL), supported by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

The first batch of the product is already out, with around 30-40 units which will be delivered as trial units to doctors and NGOs across the country. The next batch of around 100 units is also under production.


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