COVID-19: DRDO’s missile lab develops face shields, safety enclosures for doctors

Vijay Mohan

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 5

From evaluating the technical parameters of missiles and explosives, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) here has switched its expertise and in-house innovation to develop personal protective gear for the medical fraternity in the nationwide fight against COVID-19.

As many as 10,000 full face protective shields and 15 acrylic enclosures for examining infected persons are being produced by TBRL for the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Research and Education (PGIMER) here.

“The face shields are single use as well as multiple use type while the lntubation protective enclosure can be used multiple times,” Dr Manjit Singh, Director TBRL said. “We are making about a 100 face shields and 3-4 enclosures each day,” he added.

An important Defence Research and Development Organisaltion (DRDO) establishment based in Chandigarh, TBRL is involved in development, production, processing and characterisation of different high explosive compositions, fragmentation studies of warheads, captive flight testing of bombs, missiles and airborne systems and ballistics evaluation of protective system like body armour, vehicle armour and helmets.

The face shields are light weight and can be worn full day with comfort. Commonly available A-4 size transparency sheets used in overhead projectors are being used as visors while the holding frame is manufactured through Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), commonly known as 3-D printing. Polylactic Acid filament, a biodegradable thermoplastic derived from renewable resources such as corn starch or sugarcane, was used for 3-D printing.

The enclosures were requested by PGIMER’s Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care to act as first level of protection for doctors and medical staff during the intubation of COVID-19 patients. This is a process in which a tube is inserted into the patient’s mouth to keep the airway open so that the patient can be placed on a ventilator.

Made of perspex sheets the transparent enclosure is a cuboid that covers the patient’s face and upper chest, with two holes on one side through which a doctor has insert his arms to work. Medical professionals are at elevated levels of risk of infection as virus particles can become aerosolised during intubation.

Mass production of the products is planned using injection moulding technique to expedite the process. Industrial partners are also being developed to meet the possible demands from neighbouring states. Being a research laboratory, in-house production in TBRL is limited.

Dr Manjit said that TBRL is also making hand sanitizers for the Chandigarh Police using base compositions developed by the DRDO. The requirement is for 6,000 bottles of 500 ml and 1,200 bottles have already been supplied. TBRL was to get the sanitizers bottled from a commercial plant in Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, but the area has been sealed-off due to the death of an infected person. Alternate measures are being explored.

In addition, TBRL is also acting as a facilitator for the procurement of bio-suits developed by another DRDO lab for use by health care service providers. A walk-through disinfection tunnel, which is placed at the entrance to a building or complex, is also being evaluated at TBRL. Developed by Research Center Imarat, Hyderabad, the tunnel is equipped with sensors to assess body parameters, air showers and disinfectant sprays. It has the potential of being deployed at any public place or office complex.