In its fight against COVID-19, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has come out with a product called ‘Enclosure for Intubation Procedure – Aerosol Containment Box’ .
Its premier labs — Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in Hyderabad and Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory in Chandigarh — have designed the product using Acrylic and Perspex materials, respectively. It consists of a transparent cube which covers patient’s head up to the chest and acts as a safety barrier against transmitting droplets from patients to the healthcare workers while giving treatment.
The two circular ports allow the health worker’s hands to pass and perform the airway procedures. The acrylic/perspex material used here is 50% lighter thermoplastic compared to glass making it easy to handle. The enclosure for aerosol containment is useful while taking samples from a suspected patient, during intubation, observation or during treatment to completely avoid droplets and aerosols emanating from them due to cough and sneeze, said an official spokesman. Two sizes of these Aerosol Containment Boxes have been designed and developed by DRDO for use by adult and child patients. The use of the enclosure could safeguard against spread of viral contamination of COVID-19 to reach on gown, gloves, face mask, eye shield, shoes and also on the floor of the hospitals effectively.
RCI Hyderabad has manufactured the prototype units at the local industry partners here and a demonstration has also been carried out by a team of doctors at ESI Medical College, Erragadda, upon which the design has been validated and accepted. Similarly, the design of TBRL has been tested and qualified at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Required quantities of this latest innovation from the DRDO labs were being produced both in Hyderabad and Chandigarh, he added.
