2023-12-16 13:35:43
India has designed a mobile hospital that can be flown anywhere by helicopter and assembled quickly.
The innovative construction contains 72 small waterproof cubes, each weighing less than 15 kg and measuring less than one meter. They are filled with tents and specially designed medical equipment.
The cubes can be transported to war zones or natural disaster areas such as floods and earthquakes in remote areas, and are durable enough to withstand being dropped from a plane or helicopter.
It takes five trained people an hour to assemble the cubes into a fully functional hospital for doctors to treat injuries and perform surgeries. Each of them is equipped to treat up to 200 patients.
India’s health ministry said: “It can provide critical medical care, making it a lifeline in remote and inaccessible areas where immediate medical attention is required.”
Characteristics
The Aarogya Maitri Aid Cube Hospital, which was officially inaugurated this week, has small intensive care units, an operating theater and an array of equipment including portable x-rays and ultrasounds and ventilators. It is powered by a generator charged by solar panels and has water and a cooking station.
According to the Guardian, the hospital is part of an ambitious healthcare plan launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to support low-income countries hit by natural disasters.
The flexibility of the cubes and the way they can be configured is praised by HLL Lifecare, the government company behind their design.
Dr Ankita Sharma, Consultant, HLL Lifecare said: “HLL Lifecare is responsible for building the cubes: If the immediate need on the ground is for life-saving surgery, then the operating room can be assembled first. This takes just 10 minutes. The doctors can start the surgery while the rest of the cubes are assembled.”
India has designed and built a “flatpack” field hospital that can be flown to a disaster area by helicopter and assembled faster than an Ikea bookcase.
The hospital is contained in 72 small waterproof cubes, each weighing under 15kg & measuring 38cm x 38cm x 38cm(15 x 15 x 15in) pic.twitter.com/9LkWeiLlJo
— Oxomiya Jiyori ???????? (@SouleFacts) December 10, 2023
While the content of 60 cubes is mandatory, the content of the remaining 12 can be modified according to different situations.
“If it’s an earthquake where we have a lot of cracks, then we pack more cubes containing equipment for bone injuries and remove some of the bleeding injury kits that are needed for soldiers with bullet or bomb injuries,” he noted.
Sharma said it took a year of collaboration with doctors, military doctors and engineers to complete the hospital.
“We are now ready to share”
The hospital had to be small and light, which meant the equipment had to be scaled down and constantly weighed to check if the helicopter could handle the load.
“One of the biggest challenges was designing the X-ray machine to be smaller, but we did it. But then the joke was too big. And that had to be remade in a smaller size,” explained Sharma.
Each cube is waterproof and corrosion resistant. They have been dropped from helicopters and drones to test their durability.
Sharma says the hospital is the first of its kind in India, but is hesitant to make bigger claims as she is unsure of similar developments in other countries.
“The hospital is a small contribution of India to humanitarian work around the world,” he said. “We are now ready to share it with any country that needs it.”
The government has given a set of the cubes to Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
Latest news
#mobile #hospital #reality #airlifted #disaster #sites