Mumbai-based startup Indra Water has come out with a unique product – Vajra Kavach – that removes any possible traces of the SARS-Cov2 virus from PPE suits, N95 masks, coats, gloves and gowns.
As a result, PPEs and other materials worn by healthcare workers can now be reused. It not only protects healthcare workers, it protects our environment too, by helping reduce biomedical waste generation.
It is also making personal protective equipment more available, affordable, and accessible.
What makes this product even more useful is that the disinfection is done in just a few minutes.
The system is being manufactured at Indra Water’s factory at Bhiwandi in Thane district near Mumbai, from where it will be delivered to hospitals.
"Our system is able to achieve a 1,00,000-fold reduction in the number of microorganisms; in scientific terms, tests showed that we got 5 log (99.999%) reduction of viruses and bacteria”, said Abhijit VVR, one of the cofounders of Indra Water.
‘Log reduction’ is a term used to signify the relative number of living microbes that are eliminated after a process such as disinfection.
The validation and testing of the system was done by the Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering at IIT Bombay.
“Vajra Kavach went through a very long trial and testing process. It was tested with Escherichia virus MS2 (a single-stranded RNA virus and a well-known surrogate of human respiratory viruses such as influenza virus and coronavirus) and E.coli strain C3000. Full loads of the virus and bacteria samples were placed on a PPE. The PPE was then placed inside the Vajra Kavach. After the disinfection cycle time, the PPE was removed and the sample was rechecked to assess the growth rate and log reduction of the virus,” he said.
Abhijit informed that the system employs a multistage disinfection process consisting of advanced oxidation, corona discharge and UV-C light spectrum to inactivate the viruses, bacteria, and other microbial strains present on the PPE, achieving more than 99.999% efficiency.
“The idea of Vajra Kavach was conceived during the nationwide lockdown in March 2020. We began to think about what exactly we could do to help the country fight the pandemic. We realised there was a huge demand for PPE Kits and N95 masks and the nation was struggling to provide our healthcare workers with the necessary medical requirements,” he said.
According to a PIB statement, Indra Water was set up with the Department of Science & Technology’s NIDHI-PRAYAS grant (through Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, IIT Bombay) for coming up with innovations in the water sector.
Indra Water is one among the 51 startups which were funded and supported under Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH), an initiative by National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.