Testing booth aims to ease COVID-19 pressure on frontline

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan has developed a positive pressure COVID-19 testing booth to help medical frontlines.

The innovation aims to eliminate of cross-infection risk between medical staff and the potential patients. There is no need to wear a full set of protective clothing, thus saving time and energy. A medical frontline worker can put their hands into the patient's mouth to obtain a throat tissue sample, and even conduct a close consultation with the patient in the testing booth.

The testing booth emphasises its safety design by employing a positive pressure technology which allows air only to move from inside to outside, which prevents contaminated air to enter the booth and alleviates the risk for workers taking samples.

The testing booth also enables a medical worker to take samples for 12 individuals or more per hour, or 240 people per day. The booths are energy-efficient and are comfortable to stay in. Each booth is fitted with an air-conditioner and the electric cost can be less than $2 a day.

While the testing booths feature a Class 1000 level of cleanliness, it can be assembled in two days, offering rapid deployment anywhere. The positive pressure testing booth, joint-developed with National Taiwan University Hospital as well as Mackay Memorial Hospital in Hsinchu, can meet the needs of frontline inspection, and are now in field tests.