City doc invents safety box for treatment of COVID-19 patients

Principal Correspondent :

They say necessity is the mother of all inventions. Amidst the emergency of COVID-19 pandemic that is being faced all over the world, Dr Sameer Arbat from Nagpur, has designed a safety box for performing difficult bronchoscopy procedures in suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 is the name of the disease caused due to the deadly Coronavirus (SARS-COV-2). As the disease is spread through coughing and sneezing, it is very risky to perform bronchoscopy procedures in patients suspected of or confirmed COVID-19 disease.

The aerosols generated by a patient during such procedures can infect the doctor as well as spread in the surrounding area thus infecting other patients. The "Bronchoscopy Safety Box" designed by Dr Arbat is a see through box with apertures on different sides. There are two operator apertures, one assistant aperture and one bronchoscopy aperture. Each aperture is covered with a plastic sheet valve which opens and closes with entry and exit of hands as well as the bronchoscope.

There is an additional aperture for connecting a negative suction cannula for suctioning the aerosol genertaed during the procedure. The patient end has PVC sheet curtains to accommodate shoulders/chest of patient. The box is also useful in Endotracheal Intubation, a procedure necessary for patients of COVID-19 who land up in respiratory failure. The design was coneptualised and designed in the past few days by Dr Arbat by using existing acrylic sheets and plastic materials available in the hospital as all vendors were shut due to the lockdown.

The prototype model has been already used and can be easily replicated by any doctor or hospital for treating patients of COVID-19. "There is a lot of cross-infection risk involved in performing bronchoscopy procedures with patients of COVID-19. The idea of the safety box came to my mind after I saw some similar designs being used by doctors in other countries. I improvised it to act as a multipurpose box for performing bronchoscopy as well as intubation procedures. I believe it is very economical to fabricate and should be useful for all doctors. It is advisable for the doctors and staff to wear proper Personal Protective Equipment for maximum safety," commented Dr Sameer Arbat. Dr Sameer Arbat is a consultant Interventional Pulmonologist at KRIMS Hospitals and has been actively involved in creating awareness about Coronavirus through social media and community education.

This is his third invention in the field of Respiratory medicine. He is the youngest International Faculty to teach at WABIP and has performed more than 800 Interventional procedures including Cryotherapy, EBUS, Endobronchial Debulking and Thoracoscopy. Procedure performed with Safety Box - Diagnostic Broncho Alveolar Lavage, Bronchoscopy Guided Intubation, Bronchoscopic Brushings, Bronchial Biopsy, Endo-Bronchial Ultrasound, Laryngoscope Intubation, Therapeutic Broncho Alveolar Lavage. It is useful in cases of - Suspected COVID-19, Confirmed COVID-19, Swine-Flu -H1N1, Multi-Drug Resistant TB, XDR-TB, other viral infections. Dr Ashok Mahashur, Senior Consultant, Hinduja Hospitals, Mumbai stated, “Excellent and thoughtful invention. Ideal for scoping any patient carrying risk of transmitting infection like COVID-19 or MDR-TB. Deserves special appreciation.”