AP govt to buy MOM developed by NAVY for COVID-19 patients

Amaravati(AP), Apr 1 (PTI) The Andhra Pradesh government

has come forward to purchase the portable Multi-feed Oxygen Manifold (MOM), a novel contraption developed by naval personnel in Visakhapatnam, that would help meet any emergency requirement of oxygen supply to coronavirus patients.

Initially, the Navy was offering a few MOMs to AP free- of-cost.

Personnel of the Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam (NDV) designed the innovative 'Portable Multi-feed Oxygen Manifold' (MOM) using a 6-way radial header fitted to a single cylinder.

Using this unique device, one cylinder could be used to supply oxygen to six patients simultaneously, enabling critical care management to a larger number of Covid-19 patients with the existing limited resources, official sources in the Eastern Naval Command told PTI.

Even the central government is said to have evinced interest in the innovative critical care device and officials from the Centre conducted enquiries with the NDV officials on its manufacturing and utility, they said.

Sources said the NDV was ready to opensource MOM so that industries could manufacture it locally to meet the urgent requirements during the ongoing crisis.

The AP Industries Department Special Chief Secretary Rajat Bhargava is facilitating the sharing of know-how and also helping the Department of Medical and Health to procure the required number of MOMs as the number of coronavirus patients in the state was fast growing.

The Visakhapatnam district administration has approached the NDV to purchase the MOM devices and is currently getting them tested by a team of pulmonologists.

"About 5-8 per cent of Covid patients require ventilator support while about 20 per cent will be needing oxygen supply.

Being a portable device, the MOM could be put to use even in makeshift hospitals and isolation wards, like the ones in railway coaches.

Importantly, MOM is highly cost-effective and will be handy for use on multiple patients at a time," ENC sources said.

The preliminary trials of the entire MOM assembly were conducted at MI Room at Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam, followed by rapid trials at the Naval Hospital INHS Kalyani, where it was successfully set up within 30 minutes.

After successful trials, NDV commenced manufacture of 10 portable MOM with two 6-way radial headers that could cater to 120 patients at makeshift locations.