We installed the SHD Italia S.r.l. Interlocked passthrough cabinet to East-Estonian Medical Centre with ISO400: 600 baskets to make work between the two rooms smooth and comfortable.

Sunoptic Surgical is pleased to present the adaptive face shield for use with Xenon and LED headlights. The unique design allows end-users to increase their personal protection from foreign contaminates by adding an anti-glare and anti-fog face shield to their existing headlight systems. The unique clip attachments allow users to attach a face shields to any existing Sunoptic headlight in a matter of minutes without the aid of bio-med technicians. The adaptive clips slide onto the headband permitting quick and simple face shield attachment and removal. While in use, the face shield remains secure to the headband, while permitting use of the users Xenon or LED headlight. The stand off created by the adaptive clips, also allows for compatibility with most loupes.

Specs

• Able to connect to existing Sunoptic headlights – No need to invest in a new headlight system.
• Easy attachment to existing headlights – no serious modifications to the headlight needed or assistance by bio-med.
• Added protection while using a headlight - Increased personal protection during procedures.
• Can be adapted to a headband only – allows user to utilize face shield without a headlight.
• Creates stand off away from user’s face – user can comfortably use loupes with face shield.
• Can be provided with generic headbands without headlight attachments.
• Replacement kits for adaptive clips and shields available.
• One size fits all configuration.
• Premium Materials used with Anti-fog and Anti-glare coating.

The year 2020 has been a difficult one, bringing to the fore issues that otherwise seemed foreign and distant to us. Serious and rapidly spreading viral infections came and will probably remain a part of our daily lives for a long time to come. Covid-19, SARS, MERS, Ebola, MRSA are very serious diseases that can reach Estonia very quickly. This should raise the question of how we can minimize risks and protect healthy people and those who come into direct contact with patients with the disease. One party is personal protective equipment, but its use is still limited or impossible in some cases. Often, sick patients have to be transported from one hospital to another or within a hospital. Is there anything we can do to make medical transportation safer?

Medical transport of patients with infectious diseases

Due to globalization, communicable diseases may move faster and last longer than before. The risk of disease transmission certainly increases during transport. When SARS-CoV-2 virus spread, hospitals and healthcare professionals followed standard immediate isolation procedures. However, in high demand, these procedures only worked for a short time, as the number of available beds decreased rapidly and the need to transport patients to other hospitals increased.

In the case of medical transport, healthcare professionals must also take into account risks other than the risk of disease transmission. The length of the shift can affect the concentration of healthcare professionals and cause fatigue, as they cannot eat or drink during transport. When transferring a patient to another medical team, they must be careful in deciding who is responsible for patient safety and infection control. Another challenge is the availability of qualified staff and vehicles, as the supply of vehicles in hospitals is limited and disinfection requires a lot of resources. Therefore, it would be prudent to use isolated patients during transport to isolate patients with the virus.

Risk of infection for helicopter crews

Last month, DRF Luftrettung published the results of a study on the potential risk to the helicopter crew of transporting an infectious patient. The study consists of 16 field trials on board the Eurocopter EC145 and EC135 - 11 on the ground and five in the air - in collaboration with the German Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control Center (BZH) in Freiburg. Their conclusions were as follows: “In general, tests showed that a patient who breathes spontaneously is at risk of spreading pathogens not only in the cabin but also in the cockpit. […] In the worst case, there was a high probability that the pathogens would not only fall on the entire cabin surface, but would also spread to the cabin if there is no partition. If there was a partition, the particles landed on it. "

Read more about the study here

Possible solution - Epishuttle

In Norway, in 2015, the world's unique hardcover insulator frame EpiShuttle was developed in cooperation with the University Hospital of Oslo and private investors. The developed product is intended for all possible bottlenecks that may occur during medical transport (land, air, sea). To date, more than 200 insulators have been produced, which are doing their job successfully around the world. The product has been approved by both users and the WHO. It is possible to create both overpressure and underpressure in the device, to put a respirator, consumables, etc.

Epishuttle is CE certified and is a Class I medical device. The product complies with the EN1789 standard and has successfully passed various tests: EMS, vibration, falls, etc.
The vehicle does not require disinfection after patient transport, saving valuable time and resources. This means that a means of transport (such as a helicopter or ambulance) can be used immediately after the patient is taken. Healthcare professionals can also make longer exchanges.

Example: A team in Denmark has used EpiShuttle a lot to transport patients. In one case, they could not use the device (because the patient was very predominant). After transporting the patient, the team (which included 5 hygienists) had to spend 6.5 hours disinfecting the helicopter. At that time, it could not be used as intended.

The device is extremely patient-friendly and the reclining position can be moved quite a lot.
The patient can be connected to a variety of devices through airtight gates while monitoring and treating.
Helicopter pilots cannot fly with personal protective equipment. The report refers to the risk of the spread of pathogens in the cockpit. When using an insulator, there is no need to use personal protective equipment.
Healthcare professionals can make longer shifts, as they do not have to wear protective equipment during transport and there is no later need to disinfect the vehicle.

Where is EpiShuttle used

EpiShuttle has a large number of users around the world. To name a few:

DRF Luftrettung, which has transported many patients. Including from France and Italy to German hospitals where Covid patients can be treated.
FAI Air Ambulance, which has operated more than 50 shipments worldwide - including from South America, Africa and Asia to Europe
The Royal Norwegian Air Force and the Danish Air Force, both of which use EpiShuttle for Covid transport to support health agencies.

VIDEO

Scanmed Group OÜ is the official representative of EpiShuttle in Estonia.

If you have additional questions, please contact our product manager Martin Tõrv (martin.torv@scanmed.ee) or CEO Aigar Terasmaa (aigar.terasmaa@scanmed.ee).