S. Vishnu Sharma
COVID 19 PPE IIT Madras collaborates with Chengalpattu Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) in Tamil Nadu for design and rapid construction of modular Doffling Unit for safe removal of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
The entire design, fabrication and deployment of the Doffing Unit for COVID-19 PPE safe removal took place remotely during the lock down period with the project undertaken through funding support from corporates via Corporate Social Responsibility.
COVID 19 PPE IIT Madras collaborates
The Doffing Unit will enable healthcare professionals to safely and effectively remove their Personal Protective Equipment, COVID 19 PPE.
‘Donning’ is the procedure of assembling COVID 19 PPE on the healthcare providers and ‘doffing’ is the procedure for removal of PPE.
Such procedures with regards to COVID 19 PPE will have to adhere to certain standard protocols to prevent of further spread of infections.
COVID 19 PPE IIT Madras collaborates
It is therefore essential to have donning and doffing Units for PPEs in hospitals providing treatment for COVID-19 patients.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set standards for COVID 19 PPE and procedures to be followed for donning and doffing PPE.
In resource-constrained settings, innovative designs are needed for rapid deployment of such units. Professor Koshy Varghese and Professor Arul Jayachandran, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras in collaboration with the Innovation team of CMCH and a multi-disciplinary team of professionals have successfully designed fabricated and installed the Doffing Unit to handle doffing of COVID 19 PPE.
The entire collaboration took place remotely during the lockdown period during the month of April 2020.
This collaboration required on-line discussions between IIT Madras, CMCH, Public Works Department, Nandini and Arunima Architects (Akarma Designs), Kavin Kumar of IIT Madras Start-up EPMCR and Fabricators, Steel Tech and MetalScope Pvt Ltd, Puducherry.
COVID 19 PPE IIT Madras collaborates
Several versions of the design were generated and reviewed before the team finalised the version for fabrication. District officials also coordinated with the team to enable the fabrication and safe transportation of the Unit to operational location at CMCH.
Several versions of the design for COVID 19 PPE doffing unit were generated and reviewed before the team finalised the version for fabrication.
District officials also coordinated with the team to enable the fabrication and safe transportation of the Unit to operational location at CMCH.
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The units were commissioned by Chengalpattu District Collector Mr. John Louis on 6 May this year and have proven to be safe and effective and meet a critical need at CMCH during the current pandemic.
Providing feedback about the Doffing units for COVID 19 PPE, Mrs. Vijayalakshmi, staff nurse at the COVID-19 Ward at CMCH said she felt safe that she was not carrying infection to her home and community.
COVID 19 PPE IIT Madras collaborates – To enable continued refinement as well as dissemination of unit design for COVID 19 PPE, the Centre for Urbanization, Building and Environment (CUBE) will work with Governments and Hospitals to design and advise on deployment of doffing units based on specific needs.
CUBE is a centre of excellence established at IIT Madras jointly with the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an institute of national importance. The activities of the Institute in various fields of Technology and Science are carried out in 16 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary Research Academic Centres.
The Institute offers undergraduate and post – graduate programmes leading to the B.Tech., M.Sc., M.B.A., M.Tech., M.S., and Ph.D., degrees in a variety of specialisations.
COVID 19 PPE IIT Madras collaborates
IIT Madras is a residential institute with more than 580 faculty and 9,500 students. Students from 18 countries are enrolled here.
IIT Madras fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IIT Madras Incubation Cell.
IIT Madras has been ranked No.1 in the Overall Institutions category in India Rankings 2019 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Govt. of India.
The Institute has also been ranked No.1 in the Engineering Institutions category in the same Rankings for four consecutive years – 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
It was also adjudged as the ‘Top innovative Institution’ in the country in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2019 launched by Innovation Cell of MHRD.