By ABBAS BAMALLI

The Bayero University Kano (BUK), says it has invented a ventilator machine to enhance prevention and case management of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Yahuza Bello, made the disclosure at the exhibition of the machine on Friday in Kano.

Bello disclosed that an emergency team was constituted for the project, under Prof. Ibrahim Abdullahi of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

He said the invention was part of the contribution by the institution to promote research and stem further spread of the pandemic.

The VC explained that the ventilator was designed with two mode operating levels for effective management of coronavirus cases.

Bello said: “The university saw the need to contribute to the fight against the deadly pandemic and came up with this idea.

“The ventilator operates in two modes; in mode one, it breath for the patient while in mode two, the ventilator complement the breathing for patient.

“The ventilator has a control unit to check breathing according to the patient’s requirement. It has ranges for the clinician to tune to a particular breathing frequency to support the life of the patient.

“We produced one unit of the ventilator at the cost of N500,000. We used available local materials and technologies.

“We are making plans to engage companies so that we can go into mass production. For now, as a university, we produce in batches. We shall soon partner with companies for commercial production.”

According to him, plans are under way for clinical trial of the machine on animals.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the university had set up a Molecular Laboratory to enhance detection, case management and prevent further spread of coronavirus.

The test centre was designed with 180 daily samples test capacity to complement the existing Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) laboratory at Aminu kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH). (NAN)

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