An East Bay company says it has developed the tool that will prevent doctors and nurses from catching the coronavirus when treating infected patients.
There are no reports of any American health care workers coming down with the coronavirus, but health officials in DC warn the coronavirus may enter a new phase in the U.S.
As the coronavirus continues to spread around the globe, hospitals around the country are preparing for the possibility that a person infected with the coronavirus could walk into their emergency room in the near future.
“I’m optimistic that our health care system will be able to deal with these patients and protect our health care workers,” said Dr. Arthur Reingold, UC Berkeley Division Head of Epidemiology.
Reingold said it’s one thing to quarantine a healthy person who has been exposed to the virus, like at Travis Air Force Base and it’s another to treat someone who is sick and infectious.
“Will we able to contain this, will we able to avoid in the U.S. what we saw in Wuhan?” he said. “I think the answer is we don’t know yet.”
Researchers with Berkeley bio tech company ALIN Foundation unveiled a tool five years in the making that they say is the key to preventing America’s health care workers from meeting the same fate as thousands of doctors and nurses in China who got sick after treating infected Coronavirus patients.
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“It’s a clear view unit that will encapsulate an infectious patient inside,” said Dr. Kenneth Matsumura, CEO of ALIN Foundation.
The black protective gloves allow doctors and nurses to treat the patient without directly touching them. Other key feature is a toilet that incinerates the patient’s waste as well as an internal system that sterilizes the air.
“By providing a unit like this, it eases the minds of the caregivers,” said Matsumura.
The enclosures can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 depending on the features.
