Hyderabad: Start-up develops AI and ML-based smart ventilator

A city-based start-up, under the state government’s initiative — Hyderabad Security Cluster — has developed a smart ventilator which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to allow doctors to remotely manage a patient’s health. The ventilator, developed by Leven Medical, can also track a patient’s contacts, alert authorities and predict possible clusters that may develop, with its Covid tracking software.
“The data curated during the current pandemic is a mine for future research and policy making. Our smart solution will predict patterns, provide inputs to government agencies and prevent data breaches. The innovation is a scalable model, shaped by inputs from the likes of UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins and researchers around the globe,” said founder and CEO of Leven Medical, Zaki Qureshey. “The ventilator is a highly disruptive innovation in terms of technology and pricing. We are in talks with a few investors currently and are likely to start production by the next month. We are looking at producing 1,500 to 2,000 units per month,” Qureshey added.

Speaking about the development, IT and industries principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan said, “When Covid-19 cases started surging, it was reported that therewould be a major shortage of ventilators. Some hospitals and the government tried to import ventilators at the time but they were very costly and short in supply. This was a major cause of concern. But the innovation ecosystem rising up to the occasion has come as a relief.”
“This is one great example of converting adversity into opportunity and shows the agility on how quickly our home-grown start-ups can develop the necessary technologies without compromising on any features and keeping in mind the cost-effectiveness,” the principal secretary said.
“The capabilities that this innovation has in terms of tracking and providing data is the need of the hour. Take an example of a remote area where it is difficult to get doctors. This will allow a normal person to connect the ventilator to a patient and an expert sitting somewhere far can monitor vitals and provide necessary inputs. It can go a long way in saving lives,” said Verizon Asia-Pacific head of solutions and HSC founder, Prashanth Gupta.