UEM Jaipur Students Mr. Tejas Kharkar and Mr. Soham Wadeka won with their innovative product at the AVISHKAR event held at NIT Surathkal. Both of these students are mentored by Mr. Divyansh Sachdev.

The project was IV Drip Meter, which is a medical device designed to address challenges such as reverse flow in intravenous (IV) drips. While IV drips are widely used in hospitals and healthcare settings, the occurrence of retraction or reverse blood flow can induce anxiety among patients and their caregivers. The potential for irregular dosages poses a serious risk, particularly for patients already grappling with life-threatening illnesses. The IV Drip Meter aims to mitigate these concerns and enhance the safety and reliability of IV drip administration in medical contexts.

Intravenous (IV) fluids are specially crafted liquids administered directly into a vein to prevent or address dehydration. This therapeutic approach applies to individuals of all age groups, whether they are unwell, injured, experiencing dehydration due to exercise or heat, or undergoing surgical procedures. Intravenous rehydration stands as a straightforward, secure, and widely employed medical procedure, characterised by a low risk of complications.

A recently developed monitoring system for drip infusion solutions is now available for utilization in hospitals and care facilities. This system is capable of identifying the descent of each fluid drop in the drip chamber, as well as detecting instances of free flow. Three non-contacting copper foil electrodes are employed for this purpose, with each electrode encircling the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubes associated with the infusion supply from the solution bag, the drip chamber, and the infusion PVC tube from the drip chamber. Due to the electrical conductivity of drip infusion fluids, a capacitor is established between the infusion fluid and each electrode. The electrode encircling the infusion supply PVC tube from the solution bag is subjected to a sine wave with a frequency of thirty kHz.

The transducer output is represented by the capacity-coupled signal from the drip chamber electrode. As a drop of infusion fluid forms, the length and diameter, and consequently the drip chamber capacitance, increase, resulting in a modification of the output signal. The drip chamber electrode is capable of identifying the descent of each drop of fluid in the drip chamber. In the event of free-flow in the infusion solution, where no fluid drop is forming, the infusion fluid flows continuously.

Consequently, the capacitance of the electrode encircling the drip chamber remains constant, resulting in no alteration of the output signal. Conversely, the electrode enveloping the polyvinyl chloride tube supplying the infusion fluid beneath the drip chamber registers the thirty kHz sine wave transmitted through the infusion fluid. The drip chamber electrodes and the infusion supply PVC tube beneath the drip chamber discern each fluid drop and free-flow, respectively.