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- This portable, robust, compact, economical and easy to use ventilator, PumuaIshi 2.0 is designed to be a complete intensive care unit respirator.
- The product is made using Israeli technology
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has announced in Nairobi that the Kenyan industry has made a breakthrough in developing a ventilator locally. This industrial breakthrough is expected to give a big boost to the war on the coronavirus. This portable, robust, compact, economical and easy to use ventilator, PumuaIshi 2.0 is designed to be a complete intensive care unit respirator.
Ashit Shah, an expert on ventilators said that the product is made using Israeli technology. The primary focus of the PumuaIshi 2.0 is to provide intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (IPPV). The process includes manually or mechanically ventilating patients exhibiting respiratory difficulties. The ventilator reportedly is very user friendly and can be used by untrained people and can operate continuously for up to four hours without power.
Niraj Hirani who chairs KAM automotive sector said that mass production will start soon with 100 pieces to be made daily and 500 every week. KAM chief executive Phyllis Wakiaga said the PumuaIshi 2.0 would undergo tests and refinements in the next few days. The production is expected to start in two to four weeks. The cost of production she added, would be a quarter of the amount needed to import a similar gadget.
Kenyatta University, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology and the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute are also in the process of mass-producing such gadgets.
