Defence Ministry's DIAT Develops Low-Cost Home, Institutional Medical Bed Isolation System For Covid-19 Patients

Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), a Pune-based premier deemed university under the Ministry of Defence, has developed a medical bed isolation system, Aashray, to combat COVID-19 by stopping the spread of virus released by the patient.

Aashray is a low cost, reusable solution to maintain proper isolation of COVID-19 patients by creating suction /negative pressure near exhale, and further filtering and disinfecting the aerosol, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement on Tuesday (28 July).

The ministry said that the Bed Isolation System envelopes are made up of specialized material and manufacturing process.

"The product is modular and portable in design and can be suitable for different requirements such as institutional, hospitals and home/ individual quarantine. The envelope is reusable as it is antibacterial-antifungal and can be sanitized," the MoD said.

Each envelope is capable of housing one set of bed, table and chair along with some walking space. The width of the envelope can be adjusted as per the availability of space. Envelope is opaque up to 3 ft from bottom to maintain privacy of the patient.

The entire envelope is maintained at a low pressure (suction) with adjustable flow rate to restrain spread of virus/ infection inside the hall/ ICU, the ministry said.

"Each envelope is connected to the main duct equipped with Ultraviolet (UV) light and filter circuit of Pre, fine and HEPA filter (recommended for medical application) and suction blower," it said.

The cross flow of air from top of the envelope towards the main duct is regulated (with a flap valve) as per the comfort conditions of the patient. The virus / contaminants are continuously sucked through the duct and accumulated at the filters which are projected with UV light. The suction blower throws the filtered and contamination free air to the outside environment.

According to the prototype manufacture, the cost of the setup for a unit of 10 beds is around Rs 1 lakh and for home quarantine would be around Rs 15,000 for a single bed.