The IIT Guwahati is making efforts to develop several state-of-the-art technologies in Assam which include robot-based drug/food carrying unit to work in isolation wards and robot-based screening units to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The IIT-G has been providing scientific support, sophisticated instruments and life-saving equipment to the state government and the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).

“The departments of mechanical engineering and electronics and electrical engineering are making efforts to develop several state-of-the-art technologies which include robot-based drug/food carrying unit to work in isolation wards and robot-based screening units, large and high capacity autoclave machine, hand-held temperature-measuring units, hospital beds, including ICU beds, ventilators, medical waste disposal in the isolation wards, shower for disinfections, WHO-specified masks and hand sanitisers,” a statement released by the IIT-G said on Monday.

Talking about setting up a research centre for Covid-19 analysis, director, IIT Guwahati, Prof. T. G. Sitharam, said: “Our idea is to make this a state-of-the-art facility for the entire Northeast region. This centre in future will help develop highly-competent manpower for diagnosis of different infectious diseases at the early stage of infection and its prevention too.”

“On the research front, multiple efforts are being made for vaccine development at the department of bioscience and bioengineering,” the statement said.

It added: “The faculty members of bioscience and bioengineering and chemistry departments and centre for nanotechnology have also initiated research proposals to combat Covid-19.”

The institute has provided two real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines to the GMCH for diagnosis of coronavirus.

“These machines will help in ramping the testing process by analysing 1,000 samples if run for 12 hours continuously and 2,000 samples in 24 hours,” the statement said.

The IIT-G has prepared hand sanitisers at its various departments and academic centres and is in the process of preparing at least 5,000 sanitiser bottles for the state government and the GMCH.

The departments of chemistry and bioscience and bioengineering are developing prototype protective gears with antiviral and superhydrophobic coatings while the department of chemical engineering is working to develop biodegradable plastic-based medical textile.