Coronavirus: ITI Berhampur develops protective gear for frontline healthcare workers

With an aim to protect healthcare workers attending coronavirus patients, the ITI Berhampur has come out with an aerosol box for the intubation process.

The Government-run Industrial Training Institute (ITI) Berhampur has developed an aerosol box for the intubation process, to protect frontline healthcare professionals fighting the deadly novel coronavirus. The box contains a transparent plastic cube designed to cover the patient's head, having two circular paths through which the medical professionals can perform airway procedure.

Talking about the box, Rajat Kumar Panigrahy, Principal, ITI Berhampur, said when the health workers are in the contact with the coronavirus patients, they get exposed to the virus directly. The transparent aerosol box helps in reducing the exposure of the medical professionals to the virus while treating the COVID-19 positive patients.

A team of ITI-Berhampur led by Panigrahy has planned, designed, and developed the aerosol box. 

Necessary laser-cutting, drilling, and fitting were done after taking feedbacks from senior doctors of the MKCG Medical College and Hospital here, Panigrahy said. 

The box was prepared from 4-mm transparent acrylic sheets and it was cut using the laser machines to ensure airtight joints, he added. 

"The institute has developed two such boxes on a pilot basis. If the administration orders more such boxes, it will be manufactured", he said. 

The cost of development of a box is around Rs 3000, he added. 

"It has been made in such a way that it will completely cover the face, eye, and neck. The shield is also very comfortable to wear," he said. 

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