Govt. uses 20 local inventions By Agra Ranasinghe Among 200 new inventions developed to combat Covid-19, nearly 20 inventions have already been used, The Morning learnt. Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC) Director/CEO N.N.W. Dolawatta told The Morning that more than 200 inventions to fight against Covid-19 have been developed by various platforms. He said that it is not an easy task to introduce these inventions to the health authorities as there's a large process these inventions have to get through. "These new inventions can be just an idea, concept, prototype, completed product, or a design. Whichever the stage it is in, the SLIC is going to support inventors in all possible ways to introduce that to the community, while ensuring the protection of intercultural property of their product," he said. The SLIC will support them to take the patent documents, finance them for testing, support in technical assistance, provide financial assistance to build prototypes, provide grants/loans for start-ups, and support them to find out possible investors. Ministry of Health Additionally Secretary Bhadrani Jayawardena told The Morning that most of the inventions are already being used by the authorities. Some of these inventions are low-cost video laryngoscopes with extended functions, protective ventilation suits, fast-operated door handles, automatic hand sanitisers, etc.