KOCHI: With Covid-19 spreading uncontrollably, the only solution is to isolate the infected from the healthy. However, in most hospitals, beds in intensive care units are fast running out due to the increasing number of patients. Realising this, Arjun U R, a fourth-semester student of Integrated Lifestyle Product Design at the Kerala State Institute of Design, Kollam, has come up with EZY-Isolate, an indoor modular portable isolation unit. The structure is a cubicle room for isolating people with communicable diseases and can be used in multiple configurations.
Arjun’s design recently won the first prize in a design competition organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India in collaboration with Unicef to fight against Covid-19. Earlier, his design had won a place in the product design category in the D’SOURCE Corona Design Challenge organised by IIT Bombay, which saw the participation of innovators from 52 countries worldwide.
“EZY-Isolate can be used to supplement medical care spaces and as temporary isolation modules in railway stations and airports. The module can be easily mass-produced at low cost and can be provided with the basic requirements for the isolated person. What makes the module ideal is privacy for the patients, especially for women and elderly which is otherwise a problem in makeshift medical facilities,” says Arjun, an electrical engineer.
How EZY-Isolate can be used?
The module is cubical, each wall eight-foot long. The basic structure is made of painted galvanized iron pipe which gives it a rigid structure. It is portable and the entire structure can be dismantled into smaller units. “The outer cover of the unit can be made of fabric such as polyester, nylon, or canvas and consists of two parts, which are fixed using a velcro locking mechanism and provides an airtight covering. Transparent windows, zipper doors, exhaust fan, and filtered air inlet vent are attached to the outer cover. The total module weighs around 25 kg,” he says.
The module provides space for a bed, table, chair, personal belongings, bags and a pedestal fan. Arjun said although it costs `8,000 for the production of a single unit, it can be mass-produced for just `5,000 with additional features. A prototype was presented to a team of medical experts from the National Health Mission, State Medical Board and PEID Cell and it received encouraging feedback with suggestions for a few changes. Incorporating all the changes, including the design of a new air purification system, a second prototype has been designed by Arjun with the support of Manu T, Felix Abraham and Sujit S, academic staff at the institute.
The upgraded features include a portable exhaust system developed to create negative air pressure inside the isolation module. The front window size has been increased so that doctors can monitor vital parameters from outside with minimum patient contact. Provision for oxygen supply and necessary electric points has been included. The front door opening is widened for easy transfer and a support system is provided to facilitate the transfer of a patient in a trolley or wheelchair to the unit. Arjun is currently looking to collaborate with organisations with production capabilities to mass-produce EZY-Isolate.