NEW DELHI: Amid fears of increasing demand for ventilators in view of the spread of coronavirus , researchers of Thanjavur 's SASTRA university have developed ventilator splits which can double or quadruple the existing capacities. The ventilator splits are in the final stage of testing.HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said once approved, these could be given to hospitals facing shortage of ventilators due to the crisis.Another incubate of the university has designed and fabricated an agri-drone that is used for spraying disinfectants. A simulation and modelling research of the same at SASTRA labs involving three traditional medicinal plants have given positive results that may block the primary mode of Covid-19 transmission.Congratulating the university team, Pokhriyal tweeted, "SASTRA University is successfully 3D printing PLA-based 2-way and 4-way ventilator splitters at their DST established TBI facility. They are ready to be tested and served (once approved) in hospitals to address the current ventilator shortage. Kudos to SASTRA Team." He also shared a picture of ventilator splits."An incubate team led by Dr S Swaminathan, director for Centre for Nanotechnology and Advanced Biomaterials at the Thanjavur-based SASTRA University is working on 3D printing 2-way and 4-way ventilator splits to double and quadruple existing ventilator capacity. Preliminary tests have been done with good results and one more testing with flow restrictor is under way. Another incubate has designed and fabricated an agri-drone that is used for spraying disinfectants. A simulation and modelling research at SASTRA labs involving three traditional medicinal plants have given positive results that may block the primary mode of entry of nCoV19," said S Vaidhyasubramaniam , vice chancellor of the university.If successful and approved, the 3DP open source code can be used by all to crowdsource and ramp up the printing capacity of splits.The other two projects also hold potential to arrest spread of the virus. The agri-drone developed and fabricated by SASTRA graduate and TBI incubatee Karthick was originally used for spraying pesticide and now repurposed for spraying disinfectants. Trial runs were conducted on Tuesday and the drone is ready for operation by the Thanjavur district administration.Along with that a computer simulation and modelling research at SASTRA labs involving three traditional medicinal plants have given positive results that may block the primary mode of entry of nCoV19. Docking and simulation studies predict that the two molecules from traditional medicinal plants can stably bind to the receptor binding domain of the spike protein of the nCoV19. This binding may block the primary entry of the novel coronavirus. The researchers have reached out to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for further validation.