Development and Performance Assessment of Oxygen Generator and Pulse Oximetry for Covid-19 Patients in Case of Emergency: Lessons from the Field

With the emergence of Covid-19, as more people got affected by the fatal disease, the demand for a device to measure the oxygen content in our body has grown up. Due to unavailability of effective treatments, the outcome for critically ill Covid-19 patients depends on the availability of supportive medical care. In the current scenario of limited resources, it is important to identify patients who require close monitoring and serious care, including supplementary oxygen. The rapid spread of this virus as a global pandemic has brought in prodigious challenges to the healthcare system. Several oximeters are currently available on the market that can be utilized for this purpose. However, because they are powered by batteries, their performance degrades over time as the battery drains. In comparison to the widely utilized IR sensor in pulse oximeters, the MAX sensor employed in the suggested device is better. During the second wave of Covid-19, as more people got affected by this life-threatening illness, India witnessed a surge in the demand for oxygen supply. In light of this, apart from the oximeter, we have also suggested a methodology to construct a DIY oxygen generator that can be made using easily available materials in case of an emergency. Water has a chemical formula H2O which can be broken into its constitutional elements H2 and O2. Water is already rich in hydroxide ions but adding sodium bicarbonate as a catalyst raises the OH⁻concentration even more, allowing it to be utilized as an electrolyte. This paper aims to design a technique to develop both these devices cost-effectively and reliably.