IIT-M startup develops portable hospital for coronavirus patients

A startup incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) has developed a portable hospital unit that can be installed anywhere within two hours by four people.

Developed by Modulus Housing, the portable hospital unit is called MediCAB and it is a decentralised approach to detect, screen, identify, isolate and treat COVID-19 patients in their local communities, IIT-M said in a statement.

MediCAB has been recently deployed in the Wayanad district in Kerala to treat coronavirus patients. The startup is developing micro hospitals that can be deployed rapidly across the nation.

MediCAB is foldable and is composed of four zones - a doctor's room, an isolation room, a medical room/ward and a twin-bed ICU, maintained at negative pressure.

The startup collaborated with Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) who provided inputs on the certifications and customisations necessary for the project.

The company Modulus Housing founded by two IIT alumni in 2018, was supported by the IIT-M Incubation Cell and has a vision to revolutionise housing through modular prefab structures.

They have re-purposed their designs to support the fight against Covid-19.

"The outcome of this pilot project in Kerala will help in proving the applicability of the technology and advantages of micro hospitals, with MediCAB as an instant infrastructure solution. It can be easily assembled in eight hours by four people. When folded, our collapsible cabins are reduced five-fold, making it very cost-effective for transportation," Shreeram Ravichandran, Chief Executive Officer said.

"Health infrastructure is crucial in fighting any pandemic. With a contagious disease such as Covid-19, it is essential to have smart health infrastructure to screen, contain and treat people. Unlike urban areas where there is plenty of existing infrastructures that can be converted to hospitals, rural areas do not have a lot of infrastructure. It is difficult to construct buildings from scratch as the requirement is immediate. As the rural population density is relatively low, more micro hospitals help greatly in tackling COVID-19 cases."

Modulus is working on a dual design where these can be rapidly launched as Covid-19 isolation wards.

Post Covid-19, these can be transformed into micro-hospitals/clinics in rural India where the medical infrastructure needs to be augmented.

Modulus Housing has set up its manufacturing unit at Chengalpet (located about 35 kms from Chennai).

(With IANS inputs)