Awareness and not Anxiety is the key to fighting COVID-19

Union Minister of State (I/C) for Development of North Eastern Region and Minister of State in Prime Minister’s office, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, that awareness and not anxiety, is the key to fight COVID pandemic.

Launching COVID BEEP (Continuous Oxygenation & Vital information Detection  Biomed  ECIL ESIC Pod), India’s first indigenous, cost-effective, wireless physiological parameters monitoring system for COVID-19 patients, developed by ESIC Medical College Hyderabad in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad and Department Of Atomic Energy, he stressed on the importance of prevention and awareness in dealing with this pandemic effectively, now that the process of unlocking has started in a phased manner after an effective and timely lockdown for close to two months.

Lauding the efforts of ESIC Medical College Hyderabad, which has come up with yet another innovation in collaboration with eminent institutes like IIT Hyderabad, ECIL, Hyderabad and TIFR, Hyderabad for the welfare of Insured Persons during the present COVID-19 crisis adding to its long list of devices, Dr Singh said that the COVID BEEP is a perfect example of how synergy amongst the reputed institutes of India can offer solutions to most of the challenges faced by the country with minimum cost and thereby make the country Atmanirbhar in true sense. Dr Singh also said that COVID BEEP would emerge as an effective antidote to the original COVID; the pandemic which the entire world is currently grappling with.

The latest version of COVID BEEP has incorporated the following:

1. NIBP monitoring: Affected aged people have the highest death rates in COVID-19. Hence, NIBP monitoring becomes imperative in this context.
2. ECG monitoring: The drugs used as prophylaxis and /or treatment like Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin etc. have effects on the heart and hence the importance of ECG monitoring.
3. The Respiratory Rate: Is calculated by Bio Impedance method.

COVID BEEP will greatly reduce the transmission risk as well as help save resources like PPEs.

Dr Singh appreciated the work of the Department of Atomic Energy, under which ECIL falls, in developing solutions to many health-related issues. Contrary to the popular perception, the Department of Atomic Energy is actively involved in promoting the benevolent use of nuclear energy for the greater welfare of mankind. Be it in the field of generating electricity, augmenting agricultural produce, food preservation, or administering the much-renowned oncology centre by the name TMC in Mumbai, the department of atomic energy has always risen to the occasion to stand by the country in its hour of need.

The development of COVID BEEP is another step in the same direction. Prior to Dr. Singh, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Sh. G Kishan Reddy, Secretary Department of Atomic Energy, K N Vyas, Dean ESIC Medical College, Hyderabad, Prof. Srinivas, Chairman and Managing Director ECIL, Hyderabad, Rear Admiral Sanjay Chaubey (Retd.) also spoke on the occasion underlining the importance of such inventions in the present context.