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QINGDAO TODAY
在线翻译:
szdaily -> Tech and Science -> 
Coronavirus protection device developed
    2020-05-18  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

MEDICAL workers treating COVID-19 patients come with the risk of exposure to the virus. Among the riskiest moments are inserting and removing breathing tubes, procedures that create a spray of respiratory droplets.

Now, two Atlanta universities have created barrier protection devices designed to contain that droplet spray and aerosol with a goal of reducing the risk of disease transmission.

Made of clear polycarbonate material, the four-sided box is placed on a bed over the patient’s head and shoulders. Protected hand openings allow physicians or other healthcare personnel to reach into the box to perform procedures such as intubating a patient who needs to be placed on a ventilator.

“The goal of this box is to block, to a large extent, the amount of droplets being aerosolized and serves as one more layer of protection in addition to our personal protective equipment,” says Cinnamon Sullivan, assistant professor of anesthesiology, Emory University School of Medicine and the director of Global Health Anesthesiology at Emory University Hospital.

In recent weeks, a cross-disciplinary team that included anesthesiologists and other physician specialists from Emory University and engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology has worked quickly prototyping several devices, which were adapted from a basic design distributed widely throughout the medical community.

Two primary designs emerged from the effort. One of these devices is a fold-flat box, and the other device is a C-shaped frame. Both provide similar functionalities and are designed for dynamic hospital environments, such as in the emergency department.

The box that can be folded flat when not in use also has a handle to enable easier transportation and includes more safety measures designed to protect clinicians from aerosols escaping through the access holes. These new features were critical to achieving a box that could be used without taking up as much space.

“The team that performs intubations moves from unit to unit where we’re needed, so the portability of this design is essential to making it work in actual patient care situations,” says Jeremy Collins, associate professor of anesthesiology and executive vice chair of anesthesia at Emory.

“As well as protecting the anesthesia team, containment of aerosol and droplets generated can minimize contamination to the whole operating room and surrounding corridors.”

The overall goal of the project is to improve protection for medical staff as they work closely with patients, said Christopher Saldana, associate professor in Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.

The box also helps shield personal protective equipment from contamination, potentially helping to maintain supplies.

Unlike the face shields and respirators that are in such high demand, the barrier protection devices will be needed only in small quantities to shield clinicians during the specific procedure. Saldana says hospitals could find it useful in emergency departments, intensive care units and operating rooms.(SD-Agencies)

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