Govt labs chip in with innovations to defeat virus

NEW DELHI: Chipping in with innovative solutions to fight COVID-19 spread, scientists at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) have developed a ‘disinfected barrier-examination booth’ which will help doctors in examining novel coronavirus patients without coming in direct contact with them.
Equipped with a lamp, table fan, rack, and Ultraviolet (UV) light, it resembles a telephone booth with additional features which will allow doctors or frontline health staff to remain outside the structure during examination. It’ll thus prevent transmission of infection to them.
“Providing the highest standards of safety to doctors and frontline medical workers while interacting with the carriers of a highly contagious virus is clearly a critical priority. A thoughtfully designed protective booth with clinician inputs is a good step in that direction”, said Ashutosh Sharma, secretary, department of science & technology (DST).
The Thiruvananthapuram-based SCTIMST is an autonomous institution under the DST of Union science & technology ministry. “It has transferred the design and technology of the booth to the Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) Limited and the FlyTech Industries which will begin its large scale production in a week time,” said an official.
The installed UV light in the booth disinfects the chamber after each patient leaves. It has required wavelength which effectively removes most of the viral load within three minutes of exposure.
“A pair of gloves provided in the examination booth allows patient’s physical examination. Additionally, an entry tunnel on side frame is provided to pass a stethoscope within the chamber. This feature would help the doctor to place stethoscope on the patient and listen to heart and breath sounds,” said the DST in a statement.
This innovative product is part of ongoing efforts of several public sector labs and scientific institutions to come out with solutions to help doctors and frontline health staff during the country’s fight against the COVID-19.
In addition, the DST approves funding for developing a gel for nasal passage as prevention for COVID-19 while other
institutions of the ministry, including CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI), are working with industries to scale up production of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and provide various other support to frontline health staff.
The funding for developing a gel for nasal passage will help the team from the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering of IIT Bombay to come out with a product which can be applied to nasal passage, which is a major entry point of the coronavirus. This solution is not only expected to protect the safety of health workers, but can also lead to reduction in community transmission of COVID-19, thereby helping disease management.
“Our health care workers and others working in the frontline to fight against the virus deserve a foolproof, 200% protection. The nasal gel being developed in conjunction with other protective measures, will provide a strong extra layer of defense", said Sharma.
Given the contagious nature of COVID-19, the ministry noted that the health providers including doctors and nurses are at maximum risk while taking care of COVID-19 patients, particularly asymptomatic ones who cannot be detected and pose a greater risk in spreading the disease. “Under this scenario, several protective measures including the nasal gel will be quite useful,” said an official.