Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati students have designed and developed a low-cost intubation boxes.

The device functions as an aerosol obstruction box which is placed atop the patient’s bed on the head side, limiting the flow of virus-laden droplets from the patient to the doctor, especially during the process of intubation.

As in the case of Covid-19, patients develop respiratory failure thus requiring assistance in the form of endotracheal intubation.

Given the nature of this process, healthcare providers are at risk of contracting the virus via droplets either exhaled or coughed out by the patient. The device is inspired by the design of Dr Hsien Yung Lai, an anaesthesiologist from Taiwan.

“It is developed and designed by a student venture for medical innovation named Mitochondrial. Mitochondrial is mentored by Dr S. Kanagaraj and Dr Sajan Kapil of the department of mechanical engineering, IIT Guwahati. It is a low-cost alternative to intubation box and is easier to manufacture and deliver amid the lockdown. The projected cost per box is Rs 2,000, which is significantly lower than existing alternatives,” said an IIT statement released on Thursday.

The team has started a crowdfunding campaign in order to manufacture these boxes and provide them to government hospitals for free. The campaign raised a record Rs 50,000 within six hours of launching.

The team has received assistance from the DRDO for prototyping and testing at the Solid State Physics Laboratory, New Delhi, and is consulting Dr Johann Christopher of Care Hospitals, Hyderabad, and Dr Abhijeet Bhatia of NEIGRIHMMS Shillong, to ensure the efficacy of the design.

The primary prototype of the design has been completed at DRDO, New Delhi, and the box is currently being reviewed in the field at major Covid-19 care centres, such as AIIMS, New Delhi.