The government-run Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Odisha’s Berhampur has prepared low-cost ‘aerosol box’ and ‘face shields’ for the medical staff involved in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Receiving information about it, Director General of Employment and Training (DGET) and the Union Ministry for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship have organised a videoconference of different ITIs of the country on April 30, where ITI-Berhampur will provide technical training for preparation of these equipment to other ITIs for local production at their end, said ITI-Berhampur principal Rajat Panigrahy.

At the request of the Ganjam district administration, ITI-Berhampur successfully created cost-effective ‘aerosol box’ and ‘face shields’. The market price of an ‘aerosol box’ is ₹10,000, whereas the ITI-Berhampur has made it at a cost of ₹3,000. Each ‘face shield’ is sold for ₹200, while its production cost at ITI-Berhampur is just ₹11.

While the institute remains closed for students during the lockdown, the principal and staff members designed and made them at the institute’s workshops. These ‘aerosol boxes’ and ‘face shields’ will be provided to COVID-19 hospitals in Ganjam district.

An ‘aerosol box’ is a transparent box with holes to enter gloved hands, which is put over the head of a COVID-19 patient placed on ventilator in ICU during the intubation process. The ‘aerosol box’ serves as a barrier to check possible transmission of COVID-19 droplets from the patient to the treating doctors during intubation.

The ‘aerosol box’ is made of 4 mm transparent acrylic sheets cut by a laser cutting machine to make the joints completely airtight, said Mr. Panigrahy. These are reusable after sanitisation, he added.

The ‘face shields’ are A4 transparent shield with foam-lined elastic bands to keep them attached to the head of the user.