Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, has added another product to the portfolio of DRDO products to combat COVID-19 by developing ‘COVSACK – COVid SAmple Collection Kiosk’ on Tuesday.
The unit has been developed by DRDL, in consultation with the doctors of ESIC, Hyderabad. COVSACK is a kiosk for use by healthcare workers for taking COVID-19 samples from suspected patients. A patient under test walks into the kiosk and a nasal or oral swab is taken by healthcare professional from outside through the built-in gloves.
The kiosk is automatically disinfected without the need for human involvement, making the process free of infection spread. The shielding screen of kiosk cabin protects the healthcare worker from the aerosols/droplet transmission while taking the sample. This reduces the requirements of PPE change by healthcare workers.
After the patient leaves the kiosk, four nozzle sprayers mounted in the kiosk cabin disinfect the empty chamber by spraying disinfectant mist for a period of 70 seconds. It is further flushed with water and UV light disinfection. The system is ready for next use in less than two minutes. Voice command can be given through two-way communication system integrated with COVSACK. It is possible to configure the kiosk to be used either from inside or outside as required by the medical professionals.
The COVSACK costs nearly ₹1 lakh and the identified industry based at Belgaum, Karnataka, can support 10 units a day. DRDO has designed and developed two units and handed them over to ESIC Hospital Hyderabad after successful testing, said a press release.
