Peri-Intubation Containment Chamber

In the era of COVID‑19, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and its fundamental role in the protection of clinicians have come to the forefront as an essential medical technology. While commonplace in many situations as a standard of care, i.e., theatre, ICU, etc., its fundamental role in the protection of clinical staff and allied staff alike has received great scrutiny, especially when imminent shortages loom and when the rationale for appropriate use is at question. Similarly, isolation rooms and quarantined environments for the containment of highly infectious individuals with highly transmissible illnesses have risen to the forefront. In this regard, Stellenbosch University has developed a technology whose design is intended to isolate the upper respiratory tract and reduce the risks associated with its manipulation by clinical staff. The technology reduces the spread of virulent particulates via aerosolised expired air in the peri-intubation period during airway manipulation.

The Novel Peri-Intubation Containment Chamber (PICC) encompasses the principles of containment and extraction of virulent particles. It is a transparent, sealed chamber, and its access ports allow rapid assembly in emergency situations. It further comprises disposable single-use gloves and a torso shield, an acrylic chamber, and ventilation ports allowing for wide viewing angles without obstruction. It employs an integrated negative pressure ventilation system that utilises laminar airflow to extricate harmful air prior to the removal of the chamber post-intubation.

The benefits are:

• The technology enables the containment and extraction of pathogenic, contaminated air from the immediate environment within theatres, ICUs, and emergency rooms.
• It is a portable solution that allows these environments to be deemed safe, not needing a “cool-down” period post-airway manipulation. 

Application areas and potential use cases include:

• Critical, bariatric and medical surgery
• Paediatrics and maternal practice