KOCHI: Dental professionals are at a higher risk of Covid-19 exposure as their profession requires close contact with patients. Studies also show that aerosols generated during dental treatment are identified as possible sources of Covid-19 infection. Therefore, their treatment procedure has to undergo drastic modifications to cater to the current scenario.
To reduce the risk of infection in dentists, students from Government Engineering College, Thrissur -- Sourav P S, Pranav Balachandran, Aswin Kumar and Cherian Francis under the guidance of Ajay James, a faculty of computer science and engineering -- have designed and developed a transparent and protective barrier for dentists containing an inbuilt sanitisation facility titled ‘Patient Cage’.
“We came up with a protective covering which is placed over the patient creating a barrier between the dentist and themselves, “ said Ajay.
Fourth-year mechanical engineering student Aswin said that dental surgeons at the Government Dental College had discussed the challenges they faced due to the pandemic. “This is how the concept of designing a protective barrier for dentists struck us,” he said.
How it works
Patient Cage comprises a PVC sheet which can be hung from a stand. The sheet is flexible and doctors can adjust the same whenever they want to examine the patient closely without being exposed. Through the slits provided in the PVC sheet, doctors can insert their hands to treat patients. “The aerosols remain inside the cage. After the patient leaves, the sheets can be detached from the frame and washed.
The sheet is reusable. In addition to this mechanism, a sanitiser can also be fixed at the top which can be operated using a pedal switch so that the cage can be sanitised using a mist spray,” said Ajay.The total cost of the mechanism is `1,500, without the mist spray. The innovation which was developed at the Fablab of the Government Engineering College, Thrissur, was recently handed over to Dr Joly Mary Varghese and Dr Joy P T of Government Dental College, Thrissur.
Further contributions
The students have come up with an ‘Aerosol Containment Box for lathes’ which also helps in preventing dentists from getting infected. The team also delivered 35 face shields to Govt Dental College, Thrissur, and is currently working on a robot which can be used for medical assistance.