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COVSACK: an innovative portable isolated and safe COVID-19 sample collection kiosk with automatic disinfection
1Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad, Telangana 500058 India.
Insights
A new COVid SAmple Collection Kiosk (COVSACK) safely collects COVID-19 samples, protecting healthcare workers. This innovation reduces personal protective equipment (PPE) use and speeds up testing.
Area of Science:
- Medical Technology
- Infectious Disease Control
- Public Health
Background:
- COVID-19 poses significant risks to healthcare personnel due to droplet transmission.
- Effective and safe sample collection methods are crucial for controlling the pandemic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce an innovative chamber, the COVid SAmple Collection Kiosk (COVSACK), for collecting throat and nasal swabs.
- To eliminate the transmission of the virus to healthcare personnel during sample collection.
Main Methods:
- The COVSACK kiosk was designed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations.
- It is constructed from lightweight, weather-resistant composite materials.
- The kiosk allows for rapid sanitization within 3 minutes post-sample collection.
Main Results:
- The COVSACK kiosk effectively prevents virus transmission to healthcare workers.
- Its implementation has led to faster COVID-19 testing rates.
- There has been a significant reduction in the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Conclusions:
- The COVSACK represents a technological innovation in COVID-19 diagnostics.
- It enhances the safety of healthcare workers and improves testing efficiency.
- This kiosk has the potential to change COVID-19 testing procedures in India.
Abstract:
The Corona VIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is one of the significant medical disaster that changed the life of humankind in the 21st century. The deadly virus is transmittable from infected person, through his nasal droplets, to surrounding people among whom, the healthcare personnel are the utmost affected. The present article brings out an innovative chamber, which is used for collection of throat, or nasal swabs/samples for diagnosis of COVID-19 suspected persons. The chamber, called COVid SAmple Collection Kiosk (COVSACK), eliminates the transmission of the deadly virus to the health care personnel while collecting the sample. The kiosk is designed based on CFD simulations for effective spread of disinfectant in fine droplet form, built with a lightweight composite that is sustainable in extreme weather conditions and the kiosk can be easily sanitized within 3 min after sample collection. The chamber is first positioned in ESI Hospital, Hyderabad, and other hospitals and diagnostics centres across India, extensively being used for testing the COVID-19 patients at a faster rate, with a drastic reduction in use of personal protection equipment (PPE). This technological innovation, to certain extent, has changed the way the testing of COVID-19 patients carried out in the country.
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