India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO has designed a full-body disinfection chamber and a special face protection mask for the country’s healthcare professionals fighting the coronavirus.
The chamber developed by DRDO called PSE is a portable system. Equipped with a sanitiser and soap dispenser, the walk through enclosure is designed for decontamination of health workers, one person at a time, Indian news agency PTI quoted officials as saying.
The decontamination is done using a foot pedal at the entrance to the chamber.
In a statement, DRDO said that when entering the chamber, an electrically-operated pump creates a disinfectant mist of sodium hypochlorite.
“The mist spray is calibrated for an operation of 25 seconds and stops automatically indicating completion of operation. As per procedure, personnel undergoing disinfection will need to keep their eyes closed while inside the chamber", the statement added.
Stating that nearly 650 personnel can pass through the chamber for disinfection before a refill is needed, the DRDO said the system is comprised of a “roof mounted and bottom tanks with a total 700-litre capacity”.
The system has see-through glass panels on side walls and it is equipped with lights that illuminate during nighttime operations for the purpose of monitoring, the military’s research agency added.
India is currently under a 21-day lockdown introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 March in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus. According to the federal Health and Family Welfare Ministry, there are 3,374 active cases, while 77 patients have lost their lives to the virus.
