Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang Produces Safety Chamber to Reduce the Risk of Medical Workers Contracting Covid-19

Kapanlagi.com - Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) is producing safety chambers to reduce the risk of medical workers contracting Covid-19. The device is applied to a stretcher or hospital bed used by patients.

Coordinator of the Covid-19 Response Team at UMM General Hospital, Dr. Thontowi Djauhari, said that the device is produced to support the safety of medical workers. This way, the virus from the patients being treated does not have the potential to transfer to the medical workers while providing services.

"We produce two types of safety chambers, namely half-body and full-body," said Thontowi Djauhari at UMM Hospital on Tuesday (31/3).

1. To Check Patients

credit: © KapanLagi.com/Darmadi Sasongko

The half-body safety chamber design is used to examine patients who are under treatment. The patient lies with their head in the safe box equipped with a hand-sized hole.

Through that hole, medical personnel can take action against the patient without worrying about the spread of the virus. "If, for example, the patient coughs, the virus is localized. Meanwhile, if the patient is in shock, the doctor's or medical personnel's hand can enter to take action," he explained.

Meanwhile, the full-body safety chamber design is used for patient evacuation or transfer. So, during the transfer of patients between hospitals or transporting them in an ambulance, it does not disturb the environment.

"This tool is made of inexpensive fiber material, it only needs modification," he emphasized.

2. Produced for UMM Hospitals

credit: © KapanLagi.com/Darmadi Sasongko

Thommy, as he is commonly called, said that the tool was produced for the Muhammadiyah-owned hospital. However, all parties are allowed to use the design to produce it independently.

"We distribute it to several places. It's allowed to be imitated, we don't want to take advantage of the situation like this," he said.

The tool is produced to meet the safety needs of medical personnel. The tool will support the work of doctors and other paramedics to stay safe.

Because according to WHO, Covid-19 spreads from one human to another through droplets in the form of saliva or when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This transparent box-shaped tool is said to be able to minimize transmission.

"This tool is made to prevent healthcare workers from getting infected when touching and diagnosing suspected Covid-19 patients," he emphasized.

3. Not Safety Standards

However, Thommy emphasized that the device is certainly not the only safety standard used by paramedics. Therefore, officers will still use personal protective equipment (PPE), as has been widely used.

This device will be equipped with several other features to minimize the risk of transmission. Such as the addition of a breathing aid, so that patients still feel comfortable during examinations in the Safety Chamber.

Thommy also stated that this health innovation device is very useful for healthcare workers in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic. The maintenance is also quite easy, just clean it with alcohol or detergent.

(kpl/dar/nda)