AIIMS-Patna: New device to detect infecting agents

PATNA: A three-step walk, an innovative device, will now help in detecting infecting agents in the form of micro organisms like viruses and bacteria in patients visiting the All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Patna (AIIMS-P).
This new device will be installed at five entry points of the hospital from Thursday. Basically developed to ensure safety of the hospital campus against patients carrying Covid-19 virus through bare feet or even with footwear, the device named as CEST ( Covid-19 Era Santising Tray) will help to detect germs which cause various other diseases carried by patients, attendants and even other employees on their visit to the hospital.
While masks, washing and disinfecting hands with sanitizer is now a common practice against corona, disinfecting soles and feet is a new approach. AIIMS-P director Dr PK Singh said, “It is a pilot research work in which specially designed CEST with a chemical would be kept at five entry points. People reaching the hospital will be required to walk three steps in CEST for disinfecting their feet and footwear soles.”
Head of the trauma and emergency department, Dr Anil Kumar said, “These trays will be placed near trauma department, indoor patients department, out patient department (OPD) and the administrative block. Made of aluminium and measuring 9 feet long, three feet wide these trays will be filled with water and sodium hypochlorite solution in 9:1 ratio upto 10 inches from the tray-base. Swabs with the help of a stick will be taken from the sole of foot wears before stepping in the tray. While the tray will help in disinfecting the foot, swab collected will help to find out after examination in microbiology department whether any infecting agent was present before entering the gates or not.”
Two doctors of microbiology department—Binod Pati and Asim Sarfraj—are other members of the research team. Efforts are also on to improve this mode of sanitizing the footwears and sending it for patenting. “Apart from the clinical work, the research team will also do some data collection like the visitor’s profession, mode of travelling, distance covered and the disease for which he/she came to AIIMS-P for treatment,” Dr Anil said.
Statistical analysis of the data thus generated would reveal the hygienic condition of our roads, the germs carried through the mode of travelling, both public and personal mode of transport and so on. It will also reveal whether dirt and dust carried through footwear or bare foot are sources of other diseases or not.