An IIT-Guwahati team has come up with a bamboo hospital furniture range, the production of which will be quick and will be low in cost.

The aim behind this is to meet the demands, which may arise if there is a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases and more people are have to be hospitalised.

The idea has been pitched by a team from the design department of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati.

"The furniture can be used at primary health centres and makeshift isolation wards and this can be easily disposed of after the virus is contained," the team said to the authorities while making their pitch.

"Using the design, over 200 beds can be manufactured every day," reported Express Healthcare quoting Ravi Mokashi Punekar, a professor of the department.

Punekar further said that the hospital furniture range developed by them is an appropriate and sustainable solution to meet local infrastructure needs.

"Simultaneously, it will also create job opportunities for the bamboo and cane craftsmen of the region," he further said.

He further informed that the institute is in touch with two local entrepreneurs and they have agreed to undertake the manufacturing.

This is not for the first time that IIT-Guwahati students and researchers have come up with something in this fight against COVID-19.

Recently, IIT-Guwahati students have developed low-cost intubation boxes for COVID-19 patients who have breathing problems.

The device functions as an aerosol obstruction box, which can be placed on the side of the patient’s head atop the bed.

During the process of intubation, the device can limit the flow of virus-laden droplets from the patient to the doctor.

Intubation is the process of inserting a tube, which is known as an endotracheal tube (ET), through the mouth and then into the airway.

The doctors do it so that a patient can be placed on a ventilator to assist with breathing during anaesthesia, sedation or severe illness.

The primary prototype of the design was reportedly completed at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The intubation box is currently being reviewed at major COVID-19 care centres including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said a report.

It has been claimed that the device will be available at a cheaper price.