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LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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Year : 2021 | Volume
: 69
| Issue : 4 | Page : 999-1000 |
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Do it yourself automatic liquid dispenser for the COVID-19 aeon
Prithvi Chandrakanth1, Varun Duggirala2, Kalpana Narendran3, V Narendran4
1 Retina Fellow, Vitreo-Retina Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India 2 Medical Officer, IOL and Cataract Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India 3 Senior Medical Officer and Head of Department, IOL and Cataract Services and Paediatric Ophthalmology, Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India 4 Chief Medical Officer, Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Date of Web Publication | 16-Mar-2021 |
Correspondence Address: Dr. Prithvi Chandrakanth Chandradevi, Opp Super Petrol Pump, Behind ‘QRS‘, Kannur Road, W. Naddakavu, Kozhikode - 673 011, Kerala India
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_2996_20
How to cite this article: Chandrakanth P, Duggirala V, Narendran K, Narendran V. Do it yourself automatic liquid dispenser for the COVID-19 aeon. Indian J Ophthalmol 2021;69:999-1000 |
Dear Editor,
The healthcare workers (HCWs) who are the frontline fighters during this pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are the ones most vulnerable to get infected. The in-hospital transmission of the disease has been one of the major routes of spread and, in recent times, we have seen an increase in the number of deaths of HCWs.[1] As an HCW coming into contact with a COVID-19–positive patient is inevitable, maintaining hand hygiene (HH) is one of the key factors in preventing the spread of the disease.[2] Evidence from the literature has shown that frequent hand washing reduced the transmission risk of the virus by 55% and has the advantage of simple operation, strong sustainability, and high health benefit.[3],[4] A dispenser to provide liquid soap/hand sanitizer for the same is a necessity and a noncontact dispenser would be a boon. Recently, there have been various videos on do-it-yourself automatic hand dispensers on the Internet. The components required to make a similar device are easily available on leading e-commerce websites (Amazon, Flipkart etc) as DIY automatic hand sanitizer kits. An automatic liquid dispenser was made using an old Tarsons autoclavable wash bottle which was used as a reservoir to store the liquid (soap/hand rub). The outlet nozzle of the bottle top from where the liquid was dispensed was connected to the mini submersible pump outlet using an intravenous tube (IV Tube) and the wire from the pump was pulled out through the 2-mm hole made on the bottle top. This setup was then inserted into the bottle and closed. An IR proximity sensor and a TIP32C transistor were then fixed on top of the bottle and stuck using a liquid adhesive and the circuit was completed and connected to a USB cable using a soldering gun [Figure 1]. The bottle was filled with liquids such as hand sanitizers, liquid soaps, etc. The device was then connected to a power source. The device works when we bring our hand near the sensor which completes the circuit and then pumps the liquid in the bottle through the nozzle on the bottle top. This device's advantages are it is inexpensive, not bulky, easily transportable, and, most importantly, non-contact. This simple and innovative instrument provides a noncontact method of HH, thus reducing the spread of infection. | Figure 1: (a) Material used - i. USB cable ii. Intravenous Tube (IVt tube) iii. Insulated wire iv. 1k ohm resistor v. TIP32c Transistor vi. IR proximity sensor vii. Tarsons autoclavable wash bottle viii. Mini submersible pump ix. Soldering gun (b) Closed circuit of the Do-it-yourself liquid dispenser
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Acknowledgments
- Mr. Vignesh Bhojan, Manager (Patient Care), Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore
- Mr. Gowtham Raj, Instrument Department, Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore
- Miss. Durga parvathy, Instrument Department, Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References | | |
1. | Chan JF-W, Yuan S, Kok K-H, To KK-W, Chu H, Yang J, et al. A familial cluster of pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus indicating person-to-person transmission: A study of a family cluster. Lancet 2020;395:514-23. |
2. | Zhou P, Huang Z, Xiao Y, Huang X, Fan X-G. Protecting Chinese healthcare workers while combating the 2019 novel coronavirus. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2020;41:745-6. |
3. | Grayson ML, Melvani S, Druce J, Barr IG, Ballard SA, Johnson PDR, et al. Efficacy of soap and water and alcohol-based hand-rub preparations against live H1N1 influenza virus on the hands of human volunteers. Clin Infect Dis 2009;48:285-91. |
4. | Jefferson T, Del Mar C, Dooley L, Ferroni E, Al-Ansary LA, Bawazeer GA, et al. Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses: Systematic review. BMJ 2009;339:b3675. |
[Figure 1]
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