SHILLONG: As an advance in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of scientists, doctors and other academics from the state and neighbouring Assam has developed a “tunnel sanitiser based automatic temperature controller device”, a statement said on Tuesday.
The team, comprising Dr. Dinesh Bhatia from the North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong and Prof. Animesh Mishra from NEIGHRIMS, Shillong, besides Hirak Ranjan Das, Noor Islam and Sasanka Barooah, all from the Royal Global University, Guwahati, and Dr. Kalyan Kumar Das, Assam Engineering College, spent over three months on research and a number of trials to make the machine compact and cost-effective.
Here is how the machine works.
When a person enters the tunnel, a disinfectant solution, which is eco-friendly, is sprayed out of a high-pressure air compressor.
After a person is inside the tunnel, the nozzle is automatically activated and his/her entire body along with clothes is fully sanitised. The process can be completed in 3-4 seconds.
If in case some viruses or bacteria survive the disinfecting process, in the second chamber of the tunnel, the individual will experience a hot-air blast at 50 degree Celsius to ensure that the pathogen is eliminated.
The process is then followed by exposure to ultraviolet (UVC) light with a wavelength ranging from 207 to 222 nm, which is lethal for the viruses but considered safe for the human eyes and skin.
The tunnel is equipped with a thermal scanner at the entrance, which means any person detected with relatively high temperature will not be allowed to enter.
It may be mentioned that the team members had pooled in their own resources into the project.