An Iranian university researcher says domestically-developed coronavirus diagnostic test kits, light-weight ventilators and virus-killingfacemasks will soon enter the mass-production stage.
Iran-made coronavirus test kits, ventilators, anti-viral masks to hit marketDiagnostic kits, anti-coronavirus masks and light ventilators developed by researchers at Shahid Beheshti University will soon be mass-produced and put on the market,” Babak Shokri, research deputy at the university in the capital Tehran,said on Tuesday.
He said that the new kits could be used to diagnose the disease in 20 minutes, whilethe kits available on the market take between oneand several hours to detect the virus.
Shokri said that the newly-developed kits have been designed for diagnosing not only the new coronavirus but also other viruses, including Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and avian flu viruses.
He also explained that the university’s researchers have been working to design masksthat can protect against the outbreak by killing rather than simply trapping the virus.
They are workingto manufacture devices that will make the materialused in the production of facemasks resistant to the coronavirus through certain physical and chemical processess.
The masks currently in use can only filter pathogens and are not hundred percent safe and therefore the virus might transmit through them, he said, adding that the new masks will either weaken or totally destroy the virus.
He also said that the light-weight ventilators (artificial respirators)are being designed to provide breathing support to patients.
These devices are simpler, lighter and less expensive compared to the full-size models, he said, adding Iranian experts are working to design them and hope they will be ready for production within a month.
Under the current circumstances, Shokri said, the university has developed six scientific-research departments to help authorities in charge of the health sector in their efforts to curtail the outbreak.