Team of IIT Delhi Faculty Members Develop the Cheapest Respiratory Filter that can Effectively Reduce Respiratory Diseases

Asia will be accountable for almost 90% of the rise in premature deaths resultant to air pollution by the year 2040. The air pollution in Delhi alone is 12.2 times above the WHO's safe level and to control this surge in pollution a research team at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have recently developed a respiratory filter. The filter is very cheap and works better than a face mask! And is called 'Nasofilter'. 

'Nasofilter' - The Modern Face Mask 

The Nasofilter restricts the entry of up to 95% of dust and air pollutants, is now ready for commercialization. It is not only the cheapest but also a comfortable nasal filter available in comparison to facemasks and other alternatives available in the market to fight critical levels of air pollution. 

Key Features of the Nasofilter:

• The cost of this filter is just Rs.10/-
• The Nasofilter is designed in a way that it gives protection against the finest particulate pollutants in the air for at least 8 hours and thus it helps to reduce the risk of respiratory diseases.
• The filter is so small that is to be stuck on the user's nasal orifice and restricts the entry of foreign particulate matter including bacteria and pollen allergens, besides 2.5-micron sized particulate matter. 

The Brains behind the Creation

The team consisted of 2 IIT Delhi faculty members Manjeet Jassaland Ashwini K Agrawal and 3 IIT Delhi Alumni members Sanjeev Jain, Prateek Sharma and Tushar Vyas. A student of IIT Delhi University Jatin Kewlani was also part of this innovative team.The team was awarded the National Startups Award 2017 by the President, Pranab Mukherjee. One of the Team members explained that the project was to focus on assembling millions of small-sized pores to create a thin flexible membrane, which could capture very small particles with high efficiency. 

The face masks available in the market cost 1500/- or more.They may be used for 80-100 hours but can not be washed but on the other hand, the nasal filters auto-clean themselves every time the user breathes out. This innovative product will soon be out in the markets for consumers in India as well as abroad by the Nanoclean Global Pvt. Ltd., a company formed by the team.