General News » Headline News » News

Stevenson doctor spearheads initiative to help combat virus spread with “Tube in a Cube”

April 17, 2020   ·   0 Comments

Despite rigorous measures to prevent the novel COVID-19 spread at hospitals, healthcare workers are among the most at risk for contracting it.

They are particularly susceptible during intubations or resuscitations of patients who have severe symptoms of the virus.

To further protect frontline staff, a South Simcoe County emergency room physician invented the Protective Intubation and Resuscitation Cube (PIRC), otherwise known as “Tube in a Cube.”

Dr. Kaveh Kavoosi said he started working on the project to do his part in preventing the spread of novel coronavirus.

“I was trying to think outside of just my role at the hospital – what’s my role as a human right now in the face of a pandemic that can hurt anybody,” he said.

Nearly $6,500 has been raised for the project on GoFundMe, which was inspired by a box created in Taiwan that is placed on top of a patient’s head to prevent the spray of their bodily fluids onto healthcare workers.

Kavoosi, 33, told the Times he knows of someone his age who is healthy with no pre-existing medical conditions that’s been intubated due to COVID-19, so it’s important for people to note that no one’s immune.

“That makes this very real for me,” he said. “It gets more real the more that you realize young people are vulnerable.”

While the virus’ death rate is around three percent in Canada, those who become infected can suffer heavily depending on its severity.

“If I got it there’s a low chance of it hurting me to the point of death but it’s still a very painful disease for people who get the mild to moderate symptoms,” Kavoosi noted.

And even though the death rate for COVID-19 isn’t as high as other respiratory syndromes, the virus spreads much more rapidly and could infect 30,000 to 300,000 people in Canada.

“Just think within every death that’s a human being, that’s a lost connection to their mother, father, child,” Kavoosi said.

“It’s important to just be aware of the human component in all of this.”

Kavoosi partnered with an auto shop to develop PIRC as well as the University Health Network to create an official cube that can be spread across Canada.

PIRC is currently being used in five different hospitals.

It costs about $500 to build and is made by cutting materials with a 3D printer.

To learn more about PIRC visit www.tubeinacube.com where a cube can be requested and money can be donated to support the project.

By Sam Odrowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter


Readers Comments (0)


You must be logged in to post a comment.

Page Reader Press Enter to Read Page Content Out Loud Press Enter to Pause or Restart Reading Page Content Out Loud Press Enter to Stop Reading Page Content Out Loud Screen Reader Support