Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-Delhi) have developed a respiratory filter which not only restricts entry of up to 95 per cent of dust and air pollutants but is also the cheapest naso filter available.
The device ‘Nasofilters’, a nano-respiratory filter involving a cost of Rs 10, is ready for commercialization and gives protection against the finest particulate pollutants in the air for at least eight hours and hence reduces risk of respiratory diseases.
The team included IIT Delhi faculty members Manjeet Jassal and Ashwini K Agrawal besides institute alumni Sanjeev Jain, Prateek Sharma, Tushar Vyas and a student Jatin Kewlani. The team of innovators was recently awarded with the “National Startups Award” by President Pranab Mukherjee.
“To protect the health of millions, the team has developed an incredible filter technology to save people from the harmful effect of air pollution especially keeping in mind PM 2.5 concentration,” Aggarwal said.
The professor explained that the project involved assembling millions of small-sized pores to create a thin flexible membrane, which could capture very small particles with high efficiency.