A product designed and developed by three alumni of the 2016 batch of the Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) is now used by COVID-19 frontline health workers in hospitals. The three young people designed and created PPE removal units using 3D printing technology.

Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ma. Subramanian ordered a unit at the government headquarters hospital in Kancheepuram and the Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar Estate, Chennai last week.

The team is building one for the Tiruvallur public hospital. 3D printing technology has reduced construction time, is durable and environmentally friendly because it uses less raw materials.

Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, a deep tech start-up, worked with the multinational Saint Gobain to develop the lifting units.

The accommodation includes a sink, toilet, shower and a waste chute for PPE. Plumbing and power lines are integrated along the 3D printed walls. The units include a non-traviolet-C sterilization box, automatic disinfectant dispenser and automatic soap dispensers. The units are developed at Tvasta’s 3D printing plant in Perungudi.

According to Parivarthan Reddy, co-founder of Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, 3D printing technology could be used to design performance and functions without the implication of additional costs. “This makes individual customizations and personalization possible, even on a large scale, for all strata of society,” he said.

Loïc Jourdaine, Director of Research and Development at Saint-Gobain Research India, said: “The wall elements were printed in a workshop, transported and assembled on site within hours. Manufacturing and assembly do not require skilled labor.

Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions is part of the new incubator of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, ASHA Incubator, established at the institute.

Tvasta was co-founded by Adithya VS and Parivarthan Reddy from the Mechanical Engineering Department and Vidyashankar C. from the Electrical Engineering Department.