An international task force of designers, engineers, medical professionals and military experts has designed a mobile intensive-care isolation pod in response to the shortage of ICU beds available and the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. The World Economic Forum is backing the open source Connected Unit for Respiratory Ailments (CURA) initiative, and the first prototype is currently being built in Italy.
The units are built using repurposed 20-foot-long shipping containers and arrive as plug-in biocontainment pods that are as fast to erect as a hospital tent, but as safe as an isolation ward, thanks to biocontainment and negative pressure, the task force says.
While originally developed for hospitals, Ontario-based IDP Group also is advocating for the use of CURA at skilled nursing facilities, to help provide needed care to residents with COVID-19. The company is using CURA’s original design to build a pod designed specifically for SNFs, with televisions, mini-fridges and windows. Entry is gained through a sealed door, and each unit is fully insulated with “plug-and-play” heating, cooling and electrical systems, as well as two beds and patient monitoring equipment. It’s also equipped with an enriched oxygen environment and features a specialized ventilation system to ensure negative air pressure.
IDP foresees the units being dropped off at nursing homes for residents with COVID-19. The estimated cost of each pod, including two beds and all equipment, is $49,000.
