IITR develops disinfection machine for N95 masks, PPE kits

New Delhi:  The Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), based in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, has developed a disinfection machine for N95 masks and PPE kits which makes them reusable. The IITR, a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research established in 1965 under the Department of Science and Technology, developed the machine in association with a startup called Major Technology.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan took to Twitter to share the information on Tuesday, saying "the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), Lucknow (a @CSIR_IND lab) in association with a startup called Major Technology, has indigenously developed a disinfection machine for N95 masks and PPE kits which makes them reusable."

It has been tested by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur and the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, and has received positive reviews, the Minister said in a series of tweets.

He said this equipment will help in saving on the cost of new Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and masks and also save the environment as bio-medical waste will be reduced. "It does not require heavy power connection and can be run even in households," he said.