English
In a heroic attempt by an IIT Kanpur student, saved a 30-year-old Dutch man’s life onboard a flight using what he learnt while studying engineering and on an exchange program.
Karttikeya Mangalam is a student in his final year of electrical engineering and detailed his experience in his own words for the in-house magazine that is published by IIT-Kanpur.
The article titled, “Even Engineers Can Save Lives” written by him tweeted by the official handle of IIT Kanpur. This tweet quickly garnered attention as it was such a unique story.
In his article, he wrote that while coming back from his exchange from Switzerland he was flying from Geneva to New Delhi Via Moscow after giving his final exams at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) and sometime into his flight he heard an announcement for a doctor as there was a medical emergency onboard. A passenger named Thomas needed help and was a Type 1 diabetic.
Karttikeya Mangalam, a final year electrical engineering BTech student, saves life of a 30-year-old Dutch national using his basic engineering acumen. #IITK feels proud to share his story in his own words.https://t.co/SmHjYFUI2n pic.twitter.com/ybnRp19K3f
— IIT Kanpur (@IITKanpur) May 7, 2018
He had not taken an insulin dose for almost five hours and had forgotten his pump at the security check at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport.
The doctor who was assisting the patient could not inject the insulin as the cartridges that Thomas had were thinner than the pen’s diameter.
The doctor informed the crew that if the patient did not get immediate medical attention would lead to a multiple organ failures threatening his life. The crew then decided to re-direct the flight and make an emergency landing in the Afghanistan-Kazakhstan region. By this time the patient had started frothing and white foam was coming out of his mouth.
After seeing this Mangalam decided to have a look at the Insulin pen and used his engineering drawing skills that helped him realise that there were only 12 pieces and that the pen consisted of a total 13 pieces.
He then realised that a spring was missing in the doctor’s pen after having a look at the drawing style diagram of an insulin pen online and immediately asked the flight attendant to ask the passengers for ballpoint pens that may have a spring. He found one that fit perfectly and the insulin was registered by the doctor.
After this, the plane did not have to be diverted and the patient’s sugar levels stabilised. He was then taken to Gurugram’s Medanta hospital for a final check-up.
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